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The Wonderful 


CITIES OF THE WORLD 


BY ^ 

HELEN AINSLIE SMITH 


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SEP 


1887 


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WITH THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS 


GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS 
New York ; 9 Lafayette Place 
London : Broadway, Ludgate Hill 








Copyright, 1887, 

By Joseph L. Blamire. 









CONTENTS 


Russia:— 

St. Petersburg 
Moscow 

Lower Novgorod 
Riga 
Odessa 
England:— 

London . 
Liverpool 
Manchester 
Birmingham 
Leeds 
Sheffield 
Bristol 
Bradford 
Newcastle 
Eton 
Rugby 
Oxford 
Cambridge 
France:— 

Paris 
Lyons 
Marseilles 
Nimes . 

Toulouse 
Bordeaux 
Nantes . 


PAGE 


7 

lO 

19 

28 

28 

30 

46 

50 

52 

55 

56 
58 

58 

59 

59 

60 

60 

61 

63 

95 

97 

lOI 

101 

102 

103 



Contents. 


France:— 

Havre 

Rouen 

Lille 

St. Etienne 

Germany:— 

Berlin 

Hamburg 

Breslau 

Dresden 

Munich 

Bremen 

Bremerhaven 

Frankfort 

Cologne . 

Leipzic 

Magdeburg 

Scandinavia:— 

Copenhagen . 
Stockholm 
Christiania . 

Netherlands:— 
Amsterdam 
Rotterdam . 
The Hague 
Schenevingen 
Utrecht 
Leyden 
Haarlem . 

Belgium:— 

Brussels 

Antwerp 

Ghent 

Liege . 

Bruges 

Mechlin 

Louvain 


PAGE 


104 

104 

107 

107 

108 
132 

135 

136 

139 

141 

142 

142 

143 

144 
146 

148 

152 

155 

158 

160 

161 
•161 

162 
162 

165 

168 

176 

176 

176 

176 

176 


Contents, 


Switzerland:— 
Geneva 
Basle 
Berne . 
Ireland:— 

Queenstown 
Belfast 
Dublin 
Scotland:— 

Edinburgh 
Glasgow 
Dundee 
Aberdeen 
Spain:— 

Madrid 

Barcelona 

Malaga 

Valencia 

Seville 

Granada 

Cadiz 

Portugal:— 

Lisbon 
Oporto 
Italy:— 

Rome 

Naples 

Milan 

Turin 

Palermo . 

Florence 

Genoa 

Venice 

Austria-Hungary:— 
Vienna 
Buda-Pesth 
Prague 
Trieste 


177 

182 

182 

184 

186 

186 

189 

193 

194 

194 

195 

200 

202 

203 

204 
207 

209 

210 
213 

216 

230 

232 

234 

235 
235 

242 

244 

249 

262 

264 

266 







Contents. 


The Levant:— 

Constantinople 

Damascus 

Cairo 

Alexandria 
India:— 

Bombay 
Calcutta 
Madras , 
China:— 

Pekin 
Hangchau 
Canton 
Nanking . 
Suchan 
Shanghai . 
Tientsin 
Si-ngau 
Fuchan 
Japan:— 

Tokio 
Osaka 
Kioto 
Miako 
Sai-kiyo . 
South America:— 
Rio de Janeiro 
Buenos Ayres 
Santiago 
Lima 
Canada:— 

Montreal 
Toronto 
Quebec . 
Ottawa 
Mexico 

United States:— 

New York City 



PAGE 


267 

277 

280 

285 

288 

295 

298 

300 

308 

310 

312 

312 

3U 

315 

316 
316 

319 

326 

327 
327 

327 

328 

330 

331 
331 

333 

336 

337 
337 
339 


343 


Contents. 


United States;— 
Brooklyn . 
Buffalo 
Albany 
Rochester 
Troy 
Syracuse 
Boston 
Cambridge 
Lowell 
Worcester 
Fall River 
Providence 
New Haven 
Hartford 
Portland 
Philadelphia 
Pittsburgh 
Allegheny 
Scranton 
Reading 
Harrisburg 
Wilmington . 
Newark 
Paterson 
Jersey City 
Hoboken 
Baltimore 
Washington 
Chicago 
St. Louis 
Cincinnati 
Cleveland . 
Louisville ^ 
Detroit 
Milwaukee 
San Francisco 
New Orleans 


PAGE 


366 

368 

370 

371 

372 
372 
372 
384 

384 

385 

386 

386 

387 

388 

389 

390 

397 

398 
398 

398 

399 
399 

399 

400 
400 
400 
400 
402 
406 

415 

420 

421 

422 

422 

423 

424 

426 











IV 



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ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Russia:— 

St. Petersburg. g 

“ Street Scene . . lo 

“ The Neva ... ii 

“ E.xchange ... 12 

“ Academy of Sciences 14 

Moscow, Kremlin. 13 

“ Statue Peter the Great 15 

“ Czar Kolokol ... 16 

“ Church in .... 17 

“ Great Theater ... 18 

‘‘ Winter Palace ... 19 

Nijni Novgorod. 21 

Russian Types.23 

Riga.24 

Penal Colony .26 

Odessa.27 

England:— 

London Bridge.31 

“ Waterloo Bridge ... 32 

“ Houses of Parliament . 33 

“ Westminster Abbey . . 35 

“ Royal Exchange ... 37 

“ St. James’s Palace Gate 38 

“ New Law Courts . . 39 

“ Museum, South Ken¬ 
sington .41 

“ St. Paul’s Church . . 42 

“ Tower of St. Paul’s . 44 

“ Interior of St. Paul’s . 45 


FACE 

England:— 

London, Tower of.47 

Liverpool, Prince’s Landing . 46 

“ Strand Street ... 48 

“ Brown Free Library 

and Museum . . 49 

“ Perch Rock Light . 50 

Manchester, Free Trade Hall . 51 

“ The Assize Courts 52 

“ Interior Royal Ex¬ 
change .... 53 

“ Royal Exchange . 54 

Birmingham, King Edward 

School. ... 55 

“ Town Hall ... 56 

“ White Cloth Hall. 57 

Bradford, Town Hall .... 58 

I Rugby, School Days .... 59 

Cambridge, Bridge, St. John’s 

College .... 60 

“ Senate House . . 61 

France:— 

Paris, Along the Seine .... 62 

Old Paris.63 

Paris, Arc De L’Etoile ... 64 

“ Boulevard Saint Michel . 65 

“ Boulevard Montmartre . 65 

Hotel Des Invalides . . 67 

“ Napoleon’s Tomb ... 67 

“ Palace of Industry . . 69 

















Illustrations. 


France:— 

Paris, Place de la Concorde . . 

“ Interior of the Madeleine 

“ The Madeleine .... 

“ Place Vendome .... 

“ Garden of the Tuileries . 

“ The Louvre. 

“ Gallery in the Louvre . 

“ Bridge of Arts .... 

“ Pont au Change . . . 

“ Rue de Rivoli and Tower 

of St. Jacques . . . 

“ Palais Royal Place . . 

“ Palais Royal Garden . . 

“ Interior of the Bourse 

(Stock Exchange) . . 

“ Theatre Franyaise . . . 

“ Opera House .... 

“ Grand Staircase, Opera 

House. 

“ Saint Denis Gate . . . 

“ Saint Martin Gate . . . 

“ Sewers. 

“ The Catacombs . . . 

“ Halles Centrales . . . 

“ Notre Dame. 

“ Hotel Dieu. 

“ Tribunal of Commerce . 

“ Hotel De Ville .... 

“ Types and Costumes . . 

“ Belle Jardiniere 

“ New Bridge. 

Lyons . 

Marseilles. 

“ Loiigchamps Fountain 

“ Notre Dame de la 

Garde. 

Nimes, Amphitheater .... 


PAGE 

France:— 


Nimes, Maison Carree 


lOI 

Bordeaux . 


103 

Havre. 


105 

Rouen, Palace of Justice 


106 

Germany:— 

Berlin, Thiergarten . . 


109 

“ The Schloss . . 



“ Emperor’s Palace 


119 

“ Street Scene . . 


123 

‘‘ Cafe Scene 


127 

“ Frederick Street . 


131 

Hamburg, Canal . . . 


133 

‘ Marketwoman 


134 

“ Spring Floods 


135 

Munich, The “ Bavaria ” 

anc 


Hall of Fame . . . 


139 

Frankfort, Luther’s House 


141 

Cologne, Bridge of Boats 


143 

Leipsic, Town Hall . 


145 

Heidelberg,. 


147 

Scandinavia:— 

Copenhagen . 


149 

Swedish Types and Costumes 

153 

Netherlands:— 

Amsterdam. 


157 

Rotterdam. 


159 

Holland, Street Scene 


163 

Belgium:— 

Quay. 


165 

Home Work. 


167 

Brussels, Town Hall . 


169 

Bruges, Street Scene . . 


171 

“ Belfry .... 


173 

Ypres, Town Hall . 


175 

Switzerland:— 

Jungfrau from Interlaken 

, 

177 

Geneva, Lake and City . 

« 

178 


PAGE 

70 

71 

71 

72 

73 

74 

74 

75 

76 

77 

78 

79 

80 

81 

82 

83 

84 

84 

85 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

91 

92 

93 

93 

94 

97 

99 

100 

lOI 
















Illusti'ations. 


PAGE 

Switzerland:— 


Geneva, Memorial Hall . . 


179 

Berne, Street Scene . . . 


181 

Ireland:— 

Queenstown. 


184 

Lakes of Killarney 


185 

Belfast, Donegal Place . 


186 

“ Castle Place . 


186 

Dublin, Four Courts . . . 


187 

“ Custom House . 


188 

ScotLAND:— 

Edinburgh, City Keys . . 


189 

“ City. 


190 

“ Royal Exchange . 


191 

“ Bank of Scotland 


192 

“ Weather . . . 


193 

Glasgow. 


193 

Spain:— 

Madrid, Statue Philip IV. . 


196 

“ Bull Fighting . . 


197 

“ National Dance . . 


199 

Malaga, Port and Cathedral 


201 

Seville. 


205 

Granada, The Alhambra . . 


208 

Italy:— 

Rome, Bridge of St. Angelo and 
the Borgo. 

217 

“ The Capitol . . . 


219 

“ Pyramid of Caius Cestius 

219 

“ Coliseum by Moonlight 


220 

“ In the Forum . . . 


222 

“ Tombs in the Catacombs 

223 

“ Sistine Chapel . . . 


225 

“ Peasant Children . . 


227 

Naples, Bay. 


230 

Florence, Leaning Tower of Pisa 

236 

“ Loggia de’ Lanzi . 


237 

“ The Campanile 


239 


Italy:— 

Florence, Ponte Vecchio . . . 241 

“ Chapel of the Medici . 243 

Venice, Bridge of Sighs . . . 245 

“ The Canal .... 245 

“ St. Marks.246 

“ Doge’s Palace . . . 247 

Austria-Hungary:— 

Vienna, Belvedere Palace . . 249 

“ Town Hall and Parlia¬ 
ment Buildings . . 251 

“ The Jews’ Quarter . . 255 

“ St. Stephen’s Church. 257 

Prague.265 

The Levant:— 

Constantinople, a Harem Window 267 
“ Fountain St. Sophia 268 

“ The Bosphorus . . 271 

“ Mussulman Woman 272 

“ Tower in Bosphorus 273 

“ 274 

Cairo, Street Scene .... 281 

Alexandria, Place Mohammed 

All.287 

India:— 

Bedouin and Fellah .... 288 

Dak-Ghari Traveling .... 289 

Temple and Sacred Elephant . 290 

Palace of the Seths . . . . 291 

Parsee Children.293 

At School.294 

•Tomb at Ahar.295 

Mosque at Benares .... 297 

Hindoo Idols.299 

.China:— 

Pekin, High Street . . . . 301 

Hong Kong, Street Scene . . 303 

A Family Dinner.307 




















Illustrati 07 is. 





PAGE 


PAGE 

China:— 




New York City.— 


Canton, Street Scene . . 



309 

Five Points Mission House . 

356 

Modes of Torture . 



311 

Sixth Avenue at 14th Street 

357 

Temple of the Gods . 



313 

College of City of New York . 

358 

The Great Wall . . . 



315 

Bowery and Grand Street . . 

359 

Mutual Assistance . . . 



316 

Grand Central Depot .... 

360 

Woman’s Shoe and Model 

of 


Central Park, Skating Pond . 

361 

Foot. 



317 

“ Promenade . . 

362 

Chinese Children , . . 



318 

“ Terrace 

363 

Japan:— 




“ Vinery near Casino 

364 

Yokohama, Street in . . 



319 

“ Arsenal and Men¬ 


Tattooed Man .... 



320 

agerie 

365 

Woman and Child . 



320 

“ Music Stand . 

365 

Christmas Celebration 



321 

Bridge connecting Brooklyn and New 


Tokio, Traveling in . 



323 

York. 

366 

Street Ballad Singer . 



324 

Niagara Falls. 

367 

Domestic Altar of the Gods . 


325 

Erie Canal. 

369 

Domestic Scene 



326 

Albany, State Capitol . . . . . 

371 

Canada:— 




Boston:— 


Montreal. 



333 

Fanueil Hall. 

373 

Section of Victoria Bridge 



334 

Washington Statue .... 

374 

Canadian Amusements . 



335 

New (old) South Church 

375 

Quebec. 



337 

Commonwealth Avenue . 

37 f> 

“ Street Scene . 



338 

State Street . 

377 

Mexico. 



340 

. State House. 

378 

New York City:— 




Post Office. 

379 

New York Harbor . . . 



342 

City Hall. 

380 

City Hall. 



343 

Trinity Church. 

381 

Barge Office. 



344 

Christian Association .... 

382 

Bartholdi’s Statue . . . 



345 

Liberty Tree. 

383 

Western Union Building . 



347 

Conservatory of Music 

384 

Old Post Office .... 



348 

Harvard College. 

385 

New Post Office . . . 



349 

Providence . 

386 

New Court House . . . 



352 

Hartford, Capitol. 

389 

New York Herald and 

Park 


Philadelphia: — 


Bank. 



353 

Friends’ Meeting Flouse . 

390 

New York Tribune 



354 

Burial Ground. 

391 

Academy of Design . . 



355 

Ridgway Library. 

392 

































Illustrations. 


Philadelphia:— 

Delaware River .... 
Independence Hall . . . 

Public Ledger Building . 
Fairmount Park .... 
Washington:— 

White House. 

Capitol... 

Senate Chamber .... 
Chicago:— 

Post Office and Custom House 
Michigan Avenue .... 
Central Music Hall . . . 

Court House and City Hall . 
Lasalle Street Tunnel . . 

Wabash Avenue .... 
Board of Trade ..... 
Tribune Building .... 
Water Works Tower . . . 


PAGE 

Chicago.— 

Palmer House. 414 

St. Louis:— 

Custom House and Post Office . 415 

Court House.416 

Lindell Hotel.417 

Fourth Street . . . . . . 418 

Republican Building . . . . 419. 

Opera House.420 

Fair Grounds.420 

Southern Hotel.421 

Bridge at.422 

San Francisco:— 

Golden Gate.423 

Nob Hill.424 

Chinese Quarter.425 

City Hall.426 

New Orleans.427 


PAGE 

393 

394 

395 

396 

402 

403 

404 

406 

407 

408 

409 

410 

410 

411 

412 

413 





















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Great Cities of the Modern World. 


RUSSIA. 



HE Empire of Russia lies in Europe and in Asia ; from Sweden, the Baltic, Prussia 


-L and Austria, eastward to the Pacific ; from the Arctic Ocean to China, Turkestan, 
the Caspian Sea, Persia, Turkey and the Black Sea. This is a very large part of the globe,— 
nearly one twenty-sixth of it, and more than one-sixth of the land of the whole earth. 
The population of this great empire is about one hundred millions. The principal cities 
are in Europe, where the “ smaller half ” of Russia lies. 

St. Petersburg is the capital, and largest city of the country. Its population is 
nearly nine hundred thousand, which is greater than Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It 
stands upon the lower branches of the clear blue Neva River. Before the time of 
Peter the Great, this was only a tract of marshes ; but the great “ reformer ” said his 
country needed “ a window by which the Russians might look into civilized Europe.” 
So the marshes were drained, and in 1703 a magnificent city was begun. Most of it lies 
on the southern bank of the river ; the remainder is scattered over the northern bank 
and the islands. 

Fourteen arms of the Neva flow through St. Petersburg, beside many srnallei 
branches, and seven canals. The different parts of fhe town are connected by bridges. 
In summer time, little two-oared ferry-boats ply from one shore to another, while small 
steam launches are ready for greater distances. Ii^ winter the scene is very different. 
Then we see the snow-picture, which lasts from October until April. Boats are useless. 
Bridges are largely neglected. King Winter binds the streams, even the “ Big Neva,” 
with a coating of ice that will bear the heaviest of burdens. All the people who do not 
walk or skate are carried about over streams and through the snow-paved streets by 
sledges and hand sleighs. It is a beautiful sight then to see the splendid palace-lined 
streets with their red, stucco-ornamented fronts and gilded balconies glittering with ice. 
while the snow-white roadway is filled with handsome sleighs drawn by spirited horses, 
who toss their plumed heads and jingle merry sounding bells. 




lO 


Cities of the World. 


The most important of the islands of St. Petersburg, is Basil Island, or Vassiliostrof. 
It is connected with the southern bank of the river, in one place, by a beautiful, large 
stone bridge, named after the Emperor Nicholas. The shore of Vassiliostrof is lined 
with quays and shipping docks ; and upon it are the Custom House and Exchange, beside 

some fine university 
and academy build¬ 
ings ; for many of the 
most important insti¬ 
tutions of Russia are 
in or near St. Peters¬ 
burg. On another 
island stands the pic¬ 
turesque Fortress and 
Cathedral of St. Peter 
and St. Paul, where, 
the Imperial Family 
are buried. There 
are dungeons under¬ 
neath the church, 
used for a State 
Prison. It is a massive 
building, with slender, 
gilded spire almost 
four hundred feet 
high. 

Every thing in St, 
Petersburg seems 
planned to be large. 
The streets are broad ; 
the squares, palaces 
and public buildings 
are all on a grand 
scale. It stands on a 
noble river, an Impe¬ 
rial city, the capital 
and European door- 
Even the private houses are built in such 



STREET IN ST. PETERSBURG. 


Way to the largest empire in the world, 
large blocks that many of them hold twenty separate families. 

Seen covered with a layer of hoar frost, the majestic, gilded dome and red pillars 



















ST. PETERSBURG. 











































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































12 


Cities of the World. 


of St. Isaac’s Cathedral are one of the most beautiful sights in the city. The lofty doors are 
always open ; and although the visitor may think the inside gaudy and in poor taste, 
it is certainly magnificent. From the richest of Russia’s limitless mines there has been 
brought countless precious stones, metals and marbles, which by skillful hands have been 
wrought into glittering and showy decorations. The Russians are also very proud of 
the Kazan church, which stands on one of the wide streets that spread out fan-like 
from the great Admiralty Place. This square is on the south bank of the Neva, and 
contains one mass of buildings for naval use, which make a noble facade along the river 
for half a mile. Close by it is the Palace Square and Alexander’s Column, which is a 



THE EXCHANGE, OR PALACE OF THE BOURSE, ST. PETERSBURG. 

shaft made of one piece of red granite eighty feet high. It is adorned with bronze made 
of captured Turkish cannon, and altogether one hundred and fifty feet high. 

St. Petersburg is sometimes called the City of Palaces, for there are a great many other 
magnificent homes beside the famous Winter Palace ; and, although there is not another 
in the world so large, some of the smaller ones in the city are thought to be more beauti¬ 
ful. The Hermitage, a palace connected by several galleries with the Winter Palace, 
has a very fine collection of paintings, and the grand city squares abound with works 
of art in statuary and monuments. The noblest of them all is the statue of Peter the 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































14 


Cities of the World. 

Great on horseback, in Peter’s Square, which is opposite St. Isaac s and close to the 
river. 

In the Russian capital there are large manufactories, and trade is carried on in 
tapestry, glass, porcelain, malachite ornaments, and many other things. One-third of 
all Russia’s foreign trade is at St. Petersburg. The port of the city is at Cronstadt, not 
far away, on the Gulf of Finland. The waters of the Neva will not admit large vessels 
to St. Petersburg, although the floods sometimes rise high enough to do the city a great 
deal of damage. 

By whichever way one leaves the capital, unless he go by water, he must pass 



ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ST. PETERSBURG. 

through several hundred miles of uninhabited forest and morass. To the south-east, is 
a carefully cultivated and fertile country in the center of which, about 400 miles 
from St. Petersburg, is Moscow. Very rich and magnificent it appears from a distance 
this “city of domes in the air’’ with its cupolas of many colors, blazing in silvering and 
gilding and the battlements of the Kremlin high in the center. It is the home of about 
seven hundred and fifty thousand people, which is nearly three thousand more than there 
are in Brooklyn, New York. It stands on the “ mossy river,’’ Moskva, a branch of the 








































Moscow. 


15 


Volga. Until the year 1712 Moscow was the capital of Russia. It is now the wealthiest 
city of the Empire. 

The Kremlin, which is the center of the town, stands on the north bank of 
the river, within a wall, guarded by eighteen towers. Five gates open from it into the 
''■ity. They are all wonderful. Over the principal one, called the Redeemer Gate, is a 
picture of Christ ; and the Emperor, even, takes off his hat and bows as he passes through. 
Above the St. Nicholas Gate is a figure of the patron Saint of Russia, and a large square 



STATUE OF PETER THE GREAT, MOSCOW. 

tower. The fortifications of the Kremlin inclose the monuments and important build¬ 
ings of Moscow. 

Here is the Cathedral of the Annunciation, over whose precious paved floors of jasper, 
agate and carnelian, many processions have passed, to the baptism of an imperial baby, 
who, in later years has led his bride to the same altar. Perhaps, in the Cathedral of the 
Assumption, near by, he was crowned ruler of all the Russias, the “Czar” before Peter 
the Great’s time, the “ Emperor,” since : and after a stormy or a peaceful rule the Czar 













16 Cities of the World. 

was laid to rest in the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, but the Emperors lie buried in 
the Fortress at St. Petersburg. 

That great bell one sees standing on the ground, is the famous “ Czar Kolokol,” 
the largest bell in the world. It fell in the fire of 1737 and was injured. Until 1837 it 
was left sunk in the earth. Then it was raised, and made the dome of an under-ground 
chapel. Moscow has also another large bell which is in use. It weighs eighty tons, but 
is a little more than half the size of the “ great ” bell. 



CZAR KOLOKOL.” 


It is two hundred feet, up the Tower of Ivan, near by, to the cross on that 
immense gilded dome, which contains a chime of thirty-four bells. From the Tower one 
looks down upon the ancient city, with its painted green roofs and picturesque turrets, and 
sees that its streets run in all directions from the Kremlin—like spokes from the hub of a 
wheel. About a mile from the walls of the Citadel a broad boulevard makes a circle 
about the Kremlin, on the north side of the river, crossing all the streets. About a half- 
mile further another is seen running the same as the first, but, of course, making a much 























Moscow. 


17 


larger circle. To the east of the Kremlin, inside the first boulevard, is the Kitai 
Gorod, or the walled “ Chinese Town,” made up of the principal stores of the city 
and the great bazar, which covers three squares, but is divided into many small shops. 



CHURCH IN MOSCOW. 


Also within this boulevard is the Belvi Gorod, or ‘‘ White Town,” with its many 
public buildings. The new marble cathedral, the great “ Temple of the Saviour,” stands 
here. It is just finished, but was begun in 1812 as a monument to the success of Russia 

































iS 


Cities of the IVof'ld. 



against the invasion of Napoleon. It is in the form of a Greek cross, and is large enough 
to hold ten thousand people at once. The inside is said to be the most beautiful 
and gorgeous in the world. St. Saviour’s dome is three hundred and forty feet high. 

Beyond the first 
boulevard is the 
Zemlianoi Gorod, 
or the “ Earthen 
Town,” which was 
given this name, 
long ago when the 
city was surround¬ 
ed by an earthen 
rampart. 

The ancient cap¬ 
ital of Russia, like 
the new, has fine 
libraries and muse¬ 
ums and a famous 
university; its 
churches are said 
to number “ forty 
times forty.” It 
does more manu¬ 
facturing than any 
other town in 
Russia, making 
woolen, cotton and 
silk cloths, jewel¬ 
ry, glass, porcelain 
and other valuable 
articles. Trade 
is carried on by 
railroads and ca¬ 
nals in summer 
and by sledges in 

THE GREAT THEATER, MOSCOW. winter. 

The Russians do a large part of their buying and selling at fairs, held regularly in 
certain parts of the Empire. The most important of these is held every summer at 
Nijni Novgorod. 























Novgorod. 


19 



This city is not the Novgorod near the Gulf of Finland, the most ancient and a very 
interesting town of Russia ; but Nijni, or Lower Novgorod in another part of the 
country. 

Lower Novgorod is a picturesque town of two parts about 260 miles east of 
Moscow, where the Volga and Oka rivers meet. On the south side of the Volga, the 
fortified “ upper town ” stands, and in it the citadel or Kremlin, two cathedrals and the 
palaces of the governors. On the flat ground below it is the other part of the town, made 


THE WINTER P.VEACE, ST. PETERSBURG. 

up mostly of wooden buildings. This is where the business is done, for as long as the 
rivers are open Lower Novgorod has a large trade, especially in manufactured goods. 
It is connected by the rivers with twenty-four of the states of Central Russia, with the 
Baltic, the White and the Caspian Seas ; so that the town people can easily find regular 
markets for their famous Russian leather, steel goods, wax candles, pottery and many 
other wares, beside the numbers of ships they build. 

Crossing the bridge of boats over the Oka, the Fair Ground is reached. It is a broad 
space, the shape of a triangle, between the Oka and the Volga Rivers, certain to be dry 















20 


Cities of the World. 


only in summer time, and lined on both shores with ten miles of wharves, sometimes 
piled hundreds of feet high with goods. 

There are three annual fairs held in the town every year. The first two are of small 
account compared to the third, which begins the 13th of July and does not close until 
the 7th of September. This is by far the largest annual fair in the world. 

As the time for the opening draws near men gather at the city from every part 
of Europe, Asia and northern Africa. A woman is rarely seen at the Fair, it is 
said. The Fair Ground is well built, upon sewers of hewn stone ; and the forty miles of 
streets are kept clean and pure by the watchful police. The enormous market hall 
has sixty blocks of buildings for booths, which are separated into more than twenty-five 
hundred apartments by fire-proof walls. Usually there are about forty-five thousand 
people living in Lower Novgorod ; but during the Fair the population is eight times 
its regular size. So, extra churches and buildings of all kinds are kept for the visitors 
throughout the town. The rivers are so crowded with boats that the water can scarcely 
be seen. There are fully fifty thousand people living on the water during the Fair. 

The governor of the province makes his home in the midst of the bustle and confu¬ 
sion from the day the Fair opens until its close. All around are showy booths and 
squares, overloaded with goods for sale,—useful and ornamental, and all to be had at 
“ wonderful bargains.” 

Behind the booths are restaurants and the little tea-houses, always to be found in 
Russian towns. The tea-houses are full of small tables ; and from morning till night 
there are merchants and their customers sitting there, making bargains over cups of tea. 
One sees great numbers of foreigners here, and men from every part of the Empire. 

The Russians say that their countrymen are not divided into classes ; but there is 
a difference among the people of Russia as there is, according to circumstances, in every 
country. 

The highest class in Russia are the nobles and landed proprietors. They have 
usually the most money, and if they do not serve the State, live upon the rents and 
products of their property. They used to own serfs or slaves ; but in i86t all the 
slaves in Russia were made free, and now the proprietor’s former slaves are his tenants 
or his servants. The merchants make another class, and are the larger part of the 
visitors at the Fair. They are usually well educated, live in towns, and some of them 
have very rich homes. The greater part of the people of Russia are peasants. They 
are active, work hard, and are healthy, cheerful and kind. The peasant always has 
a bushy beard, and wears a round hat, and a coarse coat of drugget, reaching to the 
knee. (This coat is made of wool and skins in winter.) His trowsers are of thick, 
coarse linen, and instead of a stocking, the Russian peasant wears a woolen cloth bound 
round his leg. His shoes or sandals are made of bark, and fastened round the ankles 
with strips of bark. You would find his home in some small square cottage, which 



NIJNI NOVGOROD 


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































22 


Cities of the World. 


I he made himself of whole trees, piled one on another, and fastened together at the four 
corners. The gaps are filled in with moss ; and the roof, in the form of a penthouse, 
is covered with bark of trees under a layer of turf and mold. He cut out his windows 
and those very small doors after the house was finished. The greatest differences that 
are seen in the Russian people are marked according to where they come from ; for 
the Empire is made up of many nations unlike each other, and each with its own 
customs and characteristics. 

The police, who keep close watch here in Novgorod that no one defile the streets, 
or in any way disturb the health or peace, are Cossacks. 

The Cossacks are natives of the southern part of the Empire, which is sometimes 
called “ Little Russia.” Their wealth is mainly in horses and cattle ; but their bravery 
and warlike spirit has long made them the soldier-race, of the people. They are famous 
horsemen, and can stand fatigue, cold, hunger and thirst with great strength and courage. 
The men spend most of their time away from home in military duty ; so the strong and 
handsome Cossack women take care of the families and manage the villages, which are 
prosperous and enterprising, surrounded by vineyards, cornfields, and pastures for great 
herds of cattle. Cossack homes are described as clean and refined, and the people as 
intelligent and hospitable. 

The Tartars are another people of southern Russia, They once claimed a large 
part of Central Asia ; but are now confined to Turkestan and the countries near it. 
They, too, are powerful and warlike ; but are also fierce and roving natures. Tartars 
are seldom tall, and usually thin. Their faces are small and fresh looking. A Tartar 
has a small mouth, and small, dark, lively eyes. His shaved head is covered with a 
leather cap over which is a red-crowned bonnet or cap. A great many of them are 
seen here. The poorer men have an inner coat of a sort of linen, covered by a coarse 
cloth gown ; but the rich Tartar has a fine outside coat of cloth over his inner coat of 
lustrous silk. They bring quantities of honey with them ; but most of their trade is 
barter, for they are little used to handling money. 

From western Russia are seen the Poles, many of whom are Jews. They too raise 
large quantities of bees ; but send most of the honey to foreign ports. The Polish mer¬ 
chants at Lower Novgorod do a great business in wool, cotton, linen, liquors, oil, vinegar^ 
paper, glass, earthenware and other things. 

Poland was once an independent kingdom, but was united to the Empire in 1864. 
The country people raise horses, cattle, pigs and sheep, beside their bees. Poland is very 
thickly settled, and an important part of modern Russia, especially in manufactories. 

Talking earnestly with a Chinese tea merchant, a Finn is seen, known by his bearded 
face, and by his long hair, hanging loose under a felt hat. He belongs to another 
important race of Russia. His home is in the northwestern part of the Empire, which 
took Finland from Sweden in 1809. 


R2issian Types. 


23 



The Finland merchants are mostly dressed in coarse cloth made by the women of 
the families ; but, as this is a holiday time, some of them have on their best clothes, which 
are manufactured cloth, 
finer than the home-spun 
goods. Among the Finns 
here many wear wooden 
shoes ; some have shoes 
that are made of skin, and 
others of tree-bark laced 
together. They all wear 
a leathern girdle, some of 
them are untanned, in 
which a knife is stuck. 

Occasionally a Ger¬ 
man or a Scandinavian is 
seen, who belongs to some 
of the Baltic provinces. 

There is a Siberian, an 
Archangel merchant, 
with furs for sale; a 
Bukharian with turquoise 
and other beautiful gems ; 

Kalmuck and Kirghis, 
who have come with wild 
ponies and Siberian iron ; 
and Persians with per¬ 
fume stands. Merchants 
of western Europe are 
selling watches, pipes, 
jewelry ; and Orientals 
have come across the bor¬ 
der with their curiously- 
wrought ornaments and 
bric-a-brac. 

At the Fair every one ^ group of Russians. 

is in earnest. The faces of all are thoughtful and serious. The reason is because most 
of these merchants and traders and bankers count on this annual fair for their fortunes. 
Some of them come from so great a distance that they spend nearly all the year going 
to Lower Novgorod and returning home. 















24 


Cities of the World. 


Everything is very systematically arranged in the market-hall and bazars, accord- 
ing to the classes of goods ; but on the outskirts, monks, jugglers, beggars and venders, 
clad in all sorts of garments, and babbling in all tongues, make a scene of noise and 
confusion. 

The Empire is divided into provinces or governments, which are looked after by 
governors appointed by the Emperor. There are few towns in Russia, but many 
villages. The villages are governed according to the commune. 

A village, or commune, is something like a large family, with the Village Elder at the 
head of it, and the Village Assembly to regulate it, chosen by the people. All the people 
who belong to a certain commune are responsible alike for the debts and taxes of the 
whole village. All have a share in the farm and pasture land, which they care for sep¬ 
arately, and all are protected from losing the use of their land. They must all pay into 
the common treasury a certain sum of money. This binds the people of a commune 
very much together. If one man lets his business run down and gets out of money, all 
the members of the commune can complain, because, together, they must pay his taxes. 
The good land of a commune belongs to the community in common, and no part of it to 
any one member ; so every household by itself, as well as all of them together, is respon¬ 
sible for all the money that the commune has to pay every year into the Imperial Treasury. 
The amount is supposed to be set according to the number of men and boys in the 
commune. 

This is the general plan of the system of village government in Russia called 
the Mir, or Village Community ; but many communes follow out in the details, 
a plan for themselves. However these may differ in various parts of the Empire, 
all are subject to one great power, the Emperor. He has no limit to his will. His 
Empire is a despotism, and there is no Congress or Parliament to question or control 
him. Every Russian subject knows that if he break the law, the Emperor may 
put him to death, without hearing or trial, the moment his crime is known. But 
worse than death, the Russian fears the punishment of being banished to Siberia. 

Although this name is usually given to all of Russia in Asia, the Russians 
themselves only use it for the northern part. Even this is much larger than 
Europe, and has as many people living in it as all of the Netherlands—nearly four 
millions—more than one-half of which are exiles. 

Part of the country is barren, and most of the time covered with ice and 
snow ; but there are portions rich and fertile which give the eastern world its great sup¬ 
ply of grain, and afford good pasture to flocks of sheep and droves of horses, 
reindeer and cattle. 

But the exile only thinks of the long, dreary marches, carrying his chains from one 
post to another, over the barren country. If he does not die on the way of cold, 
hunger, filth or abuse, the worst of criminals finally reaches his journey’s end in 



RIGA 
































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































26 


Cities of the World, 


some of the central or western provinces. Here, he is put to work for life in one 
of those rich mines beneath the ice-bound surface of dreary Siberia, to get out 
the gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, iron or arsenic, which seems to be 
deposited in unlimited quantities. 

If he is not one of the blackest of the criminals, he may be taken to a less 
dismal spot, and be put to work at carving or making into beautiful filigree, the 



RUSSIAN PENAL COLONY. 


precious metal brought to the light by his brother prisoner. There is plenty of material 
for all kinds of such work ; for, beside the precious metals, Siberia yields topazes and 
emeralds, porphyry, jasper and malachite, which are made by cunning hands into objects 
of wonderful beauty and art. 

There is still another class of Siberian exiles. Those who are guilty of smaller 
crimes are taken to comfortable places, and under the eye of the police, do what 











ODESSA 













































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































28 Cities of the Woi'ld. 

they please. Most of them are trappers, for Russia has a wealth of furred animals 
in her north country. 

A great deal of petroleum and salt come also from Siberia. Salt is so plentiful that 
it hardens on the surface of some of the lakes in summer, so that men and even horses 
cross, as if it were ice. There is scarcely any manufacturing here, no large cities, and 
little farming. 

The native Siberians are short, yellow complexioned, and have deep red hair. They 
are a wild people who get their living by hunting and fishing. Their principal wealth is 
in reindeer, which they keep to draw their burdens. One man sometimes owns a herd 
of two hundred. They keep no other animals. The people dress in skin garments 
that cover them entirely, head and feet. Some of the tribes nearer the central part of 
Asia are more cultivated ; but it is usually the settlers, not the natives, who till the 
earth. 

The great yields of Russia are from the north and east; but the ports and cities are 
in Europe. 

The second great port on the European side of the Empire is Riga. The city 
stands about 370 miles from St. Petersburg, on the river Dwina, eight miles from 
the Gulf of Riga. It has a population of about one hundred and seventy thousand, 
and is one of the most important manufacturing and commercial cities of the Empire. 
St. Peter’s Church, the Castle, or Dom, and many fine public buildings are very inter¬ 
esting. The gloomy “ Old Town” shows traces of the ancient German rule ; but the 
new quarters are handsome and extensive. Riga’s busy cotton and woolen mills are 
large and growing ; and, besides being the most noted of all Russian towns for ship¬ 
building, it is in a good position to have a large trade with central and eastern Europe. 
The country is constantly sending in for shipment great quantities of flax, timber, hemp 
and grain. But the great grain port of Europe is Odessa. It has about two hundred 
thousand population, which is some less than San Francisco, California. It is built 
on a table-land, ending in bluffs on the northwest coast of the Black Sea, and is described 
as a town of “ straight streets and butter-colored houses.” There is a famous Russian 
University here, and among the fine city buildings are the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, 
the Admiralty, and the Custom House. A promenade is along the face of the cliffs, 
where the statue of the benefactor of the town, the Due de Richelieu stands, and a 
broad stairway of two hundred steps leads down to the shore. The great interests of 
Odessa are commercial. By river and railroad the products are brought from the interior 
of the country to be shipped. The harbor is so deep that even the largest men-of-war 
can come close to the shore, which, except for a few months in the winter, when the water 
is frozen over, is always a scene of loading and unloading vessels. Out and in through 
the Bosphorus they pass between this port of Russia and the cities of the Mediterra¬ 
nean and Atlantic. 


Russia. 


29 


Among the other notable cities of Russia are Warsaw, a large manufacturing town 
and the most important of Poland ; Vladimir, another large manufacturing town of Tula, 
which is as noted for its cutlery in Russia as Sheffield is in England. In Siberia the 
largest town is Irkutsk, which has a population of twenty-seven thousand. It is the 
great center of Siberian trade, especially in tea, and stands upon the principal route 
between Eastern and Western Siberia and between China and Russia. 



THE ALEXANDER COLUMN. 



ENGLAND. 


T he largest and most important city of England, indeed of the world, is T.ondon. 

It covers one hundred and thirty-two square miles, nearly three times the size of 
New York city, and contains four times as many people, or four million inhabitants. 
This great city lies on the rolling ground of the Thames valley, sixty miles from the 
winding river’s mouth, on both sides of the stream. Its greatest length is thirteen miles 
extending east and west in the direction of the river, whose banks are walled by massive 
granite dykes. As London has been growing since the third century it has come to 
include many places that were once outlying villages, each with its own peculiar name. 
The larger and more important part of the city lies north of the river, and is made up 
of two divisions,—the business, money-making “City” and “ East End,” and the “AVest 
End,” with its homes, parks, and places of amusement ; while between the two, in the 
heart of the town, is the famous old law quarter called the “ Temple.” 

For many miles before the Thames reaches the center of London it is lined with 
wharves, warehouses, and immense inclosed docks. The broad stream is crowded with 
all kinds of vessels—of not more than eight hundred tons burden—bearing cargoes 
from every nation in the world. This is the Port of London, from which the commerce 
of England extends all over the globe. Out and in the ships are constantly sailing, and 
the work of loading and unloading seems never to cease. From London alone comes 
one-half of England’s customs-revenues, while one-quarter of the whole ship-tonnage of 
the kingdom and one-quarter of its exports are centred in this busy scene. The Pool, 
the great rendezvous for coal boats, is further up the river and just below London 
Bridge, the oldest, the most used, and the most famous of the dozen bridges that span 
the Thames as it runs through London Town. It is built of granite and has cost about ten 
million dollars. Its long rows of lamp-posts are made out of the French cannon captured 
in the Peninsular AVar. But Waterloo Bridge is the handsomest. It is nearly fourteen 
hundred feet long and so high that it commands a fine view of some of the greatest sights 
ot London. At night this is lighted by electricity. Between here and old London 
Bridge is Blackfriars’ Bridge, which crosses the river in the heart of the city, and stands 



LONDON liRlDOE. 












































































































































































































































































































































































32 


Cities of the World. 


at the eastern end of the broadest and finest of the river walls, the Victoria Embank¬ 
ment, which is a favorite walk, stretching on the north side of the river to Westminster 
Bridge. The Albert Embankment, the finest on the south side of the river, begins at 



WATERLOO BRIDGE, LONDON. 

Vauxhall bridge, near the western end of the city, and extends past Lambeth Palace to. 
Westminster Bridge, opposite Westminster Palace, and the Parliament Houses. 

Lambeth Palace has been for six hundred years the London residence of the Arch¬ 
bishop of Canterbury, the primate of England. It is a massive old pile of brick and 
stone which has been the scene of many important events in the civil and church history 
of England. It is entered at the southern end by the old, tower-guarded Morton 

gate-way, of red brick and stone dressings, which was built in 1484. It is said 

that probably no other piece of architecture in Europe has brought so much of beauty 

and grandeur as safely through four centuries of so many trials. This leads to the 

outer courtyard—within the Palace walls—along the right side of which is the Library 
and Juxon’s Hall. 

The body of the Palace is beyond, where, at the north-western corner, are the 
Guard Room, Portrait Gallery, Chapel—the oldest building of Lambeth—and several 
other rooms and towers, the outermost of which are the Post Room and the Lollards' 
Tower, a massive, square keep of stone. The rest of the Palace, wdiich extends toward 
the eastward, faces the northern end of the inner courtyard, and is the princely dwell¬ 
ing of the Archbishop. Above is the Medical School, and, extending nearly eighteen 
hundred feet along the Albert Embankment to Westminster Bridge, are the seven great 
red brick buildings of St. Thomas’s Hospital, which are each four stories high and 
united by arcades into one immense institution, where over sixty-six thousand patients 













London. 


oj) 

are treated every year. On the other side of the river, directly opposite, are the Houses 
of Parliament. 

This magnificent building, close to the water, covers about eight acres of ground at 
the head of the Victoria Embankment. This is where the Lords and “ Commons ” 
meet, who help the Queen to rule the country, somewhat as our Senate and Congress 
come together at Washington. It is built of stone in the richest late-gothic style, which 
is also called “Tudor” or “Perpendicular” architecture; and beside the Parliament 
Chambers, include official dwellings and other apartments, numbering eleven hundred in 
all, with eleven open courts and 
one hundred staircases. The river 
front, which is nine hundred and 
forty feet long, is adorned with 
rich decorations and statues of all 
the sovereigns of England. The 
Palace has three towers, the lowest 
of which is the Middle Tower, 
three hundred feet high. The 
square Clock Tower—or St. Ste¬ 
phen’s Tower—which stands at the 
north-western corner, contains 
“Big Ben,” the famous old bell, 
which, in calm weather, is heard 
over the larger part of London. It 
takes half a day to wind the 
striking part of the great clock in 
this tower, whose dials are on each 
of the four sides and measure 
twenty-three feet in diameter. At 
the southwestern corner is Vic¬ 
toria Tower, the highest and 
largest of the three, containing 
the royal entrance through which 
the Queen passes when she visits Parliament. Within Westminster Palace, as without, 
all is handsome and imposing, while some of the apartments are really magnificent. 
Between the Victoria Tower and the House of Peers lies the long Royal Victoria Gallery, 
with floors richly paved in mosaics, ceilings paneled and gilded, and the long side walls 
covered with two great historic paintings in fresco. The House of Peers is an immense 
room lying beyond, which occupies about the center of the southern half of the Palace. 
It is probably the most gorgeous apartment in Westminster. The walls and ceilings are 












34 


Cities of the World. 


handsomely decorated, and in the twelve beautiful stained glass windows are the por¬ 
traits of the kings and queens of England since the Norman Conquest. At night the 
House is lighted from without through these windows, between which are niches filled 
with statues of the Barons who secured the Magna Charta of King John. The floor is 
occupied by more than four hundred red benches, seats of the “members.” The cele¬ 
brated woolsack of the Lord Chancellor—a kind of cushioned ottoman—standing almost 
in the center, is in front of the magnificent canopied throne of the Queen, at the south 
end of the hall. On either side of this are the thrones of the Prince of Wales and the 
late Prince Albert, while above are seats for foreign ambassadors and other distinguished 
visitors. Opposite the throne, at the north end of the chamber, is the Bar, where com¬ 
munications to the Lords are delivered and law-suits pleaded ; and above it are galleries 
for reporters and strangers. The situation of the House of Commons in about the 
center of the northern half of Westminster Palace, corresponds to that of the Peers in 
the southern part. The two halls are the same in width, but the Commons is neither so 
long nor so high as the Lords’ ; and, although very handsome with its oak paneling and 
stained glass windows, it is but plain and substantial looking as compared with the gor¬ 
geous decorations of the other House. Midway between the Houses is the spacious 
eight-sided Central Hall, which stands beneath the Central Tower in the middle of the 
building. Skirting its floors of inlaid pavements is the inscription in Latin : “ Except 
the Lord keep the house, their labor is but lost that build it.” The stone vaulting, sup¬ 
ported by massive and richly embossed ribs, is decorated with Venetian mosaics, 
many statues of English sovereigns rest in niches by the windovvs, and the lofty door¬ 
ways which lead in four directions to corridors connecting with lobbies, halls and courts 
belonging to and surrounding the Houses. The Parliament building stands upon the 
site of the old Westminster Palace, which from the time of the Anglo-Saxon kings to the 
reign of Henry VIH. was a royal residence. In 1840 all was destroyed except West¬ 
minster Hall, which is on the western side of the present Palace. This is now used as 
a public vestibule to the Houses, and is entered from the northern outer-court, called 
New Palace Yard,—new in the time of William Rufus, who laid it out when in 1097 he 
built this great hall for banquets, as the first step—which was also his last—toward a 
new royal residence. We see it as remodeled and enlarged just three hundred years 
later by Richard 11 ., who built upon the old walls a magnificent new roof, which 
hangs in mid-air now with its peak ninety-two feet above the pavement, as solidly 
as it did five hundred years ago ; its massive timbers of oak and chestnut interlocking 
each other in a great gothic arch, which is still a wonder to architects as a masterpiece 
of beauty and skill. From St. Stephen’s porch, at the southern end of the Great Hall 
of William Rufus, Old Palace Yard, extending to Victoria Tower, lies between the 
western facade of the Palace and the extreme end of Westminster Abbey. 

This grand old minster, one of the greatest of London’s fifteen hundred churches, 


London. 


35 



WESTMINSTER ABBEY, LONDON. 

Standing at this end of ibe nave a superb view of the ancient building may be had. 
From the stained glass windows far above, a beautiful light falls on the lofty arches, the 
magnificent colonnade of pillarsending in the chapel of Edward the Confessor, hundreds 
of feet away. A wonder of architectural beauty is on every side, with choir, transepts, 
cloisters and chapels filled with sculptures and bas-reliefs, keeping alive the illustrious 
names of England’s dead. 


is built in the form of a cross, mostly in Gothic style. It is over five hundred feet long, 
and, besides the great nave, choir and transept, contains nine chapels dedicated to differ¬ 
ent saints, and many cloisters. At the western end are two square towers, two hundred 
and twenty-five feet high, with a Gothic window between and a Gothic door belov\. 









Cities of the World. 




An iron screen separates the nave from the choir, with its great organ and liand- 
some wood-work ; and beyond the transepts is the chapel of Edward the Confessor, in 
which stand the ancient coronation chairs and the shrine of the Confessor, built in 1269. 
In front of the altar of the church is a curious old mosaic pavement ; the reredos is very 
elaborately wrought in red and white alabaster ; a picture of the Last Supper, in fine 
Venetian mosaics, occupies the recess above the table, while the niches are filled with 
large figures of Moses, St. Peter, St. Paul and David. The Poets’ corner is in the south 
transept. Here tombs, statues and monuments keep green the memory of the greatest 
names in English literature. Beyond the shrine of Edward the Confessor is the Chapel 
of Henry VII., the most beautiful and extensive in the Abbey. It consists of nave and 
aisles, with five small chapels at the eastern end. The Gothic ceiling, resting on lofty 
arches, is exquisitely wrought in fan-tracery, whose rich and delicate fret-work seems, in 
the distance, more like silver filagree than stone carving. On every side is a mass of rich 
ornamentation, especially of roses, since it was the marriage of Henry VII. (of Lancaster) 
with Elizabeth (of York) which brought to a close the War of the Roses, and founded 
the House of Tudor. The carved choir stalls on either side are appropriated to the 
Knights of the Order of the Bath. In this chapel alone are a thousand memorial statues 
and figures, in the midst of which are those of the founder and his queen, lying upon 
richly-carved tombs, surrounded by an elaborate and curiously-wrought screen of brass. 
Beside the solemn beauty and grandeur of this edifice, the old Abbey is a wonder in age, 
having been begun in the seventh century, and was the scene of many great events. All 
the English sovereigns from the time of Edward the Confessor have been crowned here ; 
and here, too, many of them lie buried. 

Not far from the Abbey is St. James’s Park and the Queen’s palace of Buckingham, 
which stands with its beautiful grounds at the head of the Mall. 

The building forms a large quadrangle, or hollow square, the principal front facing St. 
James’s Park. A portico of marble columns leads from a spacious court to the rooms of 
state, the finest of which is the Throne Room. The walls are gorgeously hung in red striped 
satin and gilt, above which is a marble frieze around the vaulted and richly decorated 
ceiling. The marble staircase is magnificent ; its ceiling is decorated in frescoes of 
Morning, Noon, Evening and Night. The Picture Gallery, Dining Room and Sculpture 
Gallery contain choice pictures by famous artists, and busts and statues of members of 
the royal family and eminent statesmen. Queen Victoria’s London residence is in the 
northern end of the palace, looking toward Green Park, while the Palace Garden is at 
the west. St. James’s Park is a long, fan-shaped green, covering thirty-six acres from 
Buckingham to Whitehall, between the Mall, a broad, tree-lined avenue running north¬ 
east, and Birdcage Walk, which, on the south side, leads to Westminster Bridge. It is 
handsomely laid out with trees, gardens and walks, while across the long, narrow lake, 
extending almost the full length of the park, is a suspension bridge making a beautiful 



ROYAL LXC \IA NO L. LON LON 




















































































































































































































































































































































































38 


Cities of the World. 



short cut from the most fashionable quarter of London to Westminster Abbey and the 
Parliament Houses. 

Next to St. James’s Palace is Marlborough House, the London home of the Prince 
of Wales. This is on Pall Mall, a short distance from St. James’s Square, where stand 
the mansions of the Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Derby, Bishop of London and other 
members of the, aristocracy of England. This is West End, the fashionable part of 
London, the center of which is Belgravia, beyond Buckingham Palace Garden. 

St. James’s Palace, on the north 
side of the Mall, faces the center of the 
park and extends back to the Pall Mall, 
a street filled with the small palaces of 
the famous London clubs. St. James’s 
was built by Henry VIIL, and has been 
a royal residence ever since. Excepting 
the old brick gateway on the north-west, 
the Chapel Royal and the ancient Pres¬ 
ence Chamber, the present buildings are 
of the nineteenth century. It is now 
used for Court purposes, especially for 
the Queen’s levees, the royal receptions 
at which gentlemen are presented to 
Her Majesty. The Drawing Rooms, or 
ladies’ receptions, are held at Bucking¬ 
ham. In the Chapel Royal, which is 
regularly used for church services. 

Queen Victoria and some of her daugh¬ 
ters were married. 

Whitehall is a broad, crescent¬ 

shaped street lying between the large 
end of St. James’s Park and the Thames. 

It is lined on both sides with public 
buildings ; in the center, facing the open 
Parade, overlooking the Park, is the 
celebrated Horse Guards; opposite, 

extending to the Victoria Embank- palace gate. 

ment, are many far-famed institutions, particularly old Scotland Yard, the great 
police headquarters of London. At the head of Whitehall is Charing Cross, 
where nearly all the omnibus lines of the West End meet, for these great coaches, 
which are found in all parts of London, are one of the very important accom- 



























THE NEW LAW COURTS, LONDON. 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































40 


Cities of the World. 


modations for the people. Beyond is Trafalgar Square, where a great figure of Nelson 
looks down on fountains and statues in the midst of a busy throng of people passing to 
and fro. Fine hotels and public buildings surround the Square, while from it streets 
large and small run in every direction, filled with people on foot, and in carriages, omni¬ 
buses, or the two-wheeled hansom cabs, of which there are something like fourteen 
thousand used in London. On the west is the favorite drive to the parks through 
the i\Iall, and Pall Mall, with its aristocratic mansions ; on the south is Whitehall ; on 
the east the great West End avenue of trade, the Strand, stretches away to the city, lined 
with handsome shops, offices and places of amusement, and filled with a constant crowd 
of people; and above the terrace on the north side is seen the long Grecian front of the 
National Gallery, with its Corinthian portico in the center. The exhibition of this 
gallery consists of ten hundred and fifty pictures, which are classified in many rooms, 
according to the various schools of art. Near by is an elegant Moorish building, the 
Alhambra Theater ; and Leicester Square, once a famous French quarter of London. 
Westward, beyond Haymarket (street) is the head of Piccadilly : at this end a scene of 
business among the handsome shops; further along stand the Royal Academy buildings, 
while at the western end, which forms the upper boundary of Green Park, are fashion¬ 
able clubs and homes of wealthy families, extending to Hyde Park Corner, where Green 
Park ends, almost at a point, and Hyde Park, the finest in London, begins. Free to all, 
it is enjoyed by rich and poor. Within its lofty iron railing are nearly four hundred 
acres—including the great artificial lake, called Serpentine River—embellished with 
trees and gardens, monuments and statuary, and laid out in delightful walks and drives. 
One of the sights of London are the lines of handsome carriages and magnificent horses 
which throng the Drive of Hyde Park every clear afternoon during the “ season,” when 
the nobility and wealth, beauty and elegance of English society is out for the air. 

The famous horseback road, called Rotten Row, is through the south side of Hyde 
Park, leading to the Kensington Gardens, a beautifully laid-out public park in front of 
Kensington Palace, the birth-place of Queen Victoria. At the south side of Kensington 
Gardens is the Albert Memorial, a magnificent monument built by the English people in 
memory of their Prince and their Queen’s husband. It is very large, ornamented with 
many statues, and almost two hundred sculptured portraits of great artists, authors 
and musical composers. In the center is a statue of Prince Albert under a splendid 
carved canopy. The South Kensington Museum is south of the Gardens, in the part 
of London lying near the river, called Chelsea. Adjoining is the Royal Albert Hall, 
used for exhibitions and musical festivals ; the Horticultural Gardens and also many 
other museums and libraries. A park of ten acres of land is here devoted to exhibi¬ 
tion buildings and art and industrial schools, which are both among the best in the 
kingdom, and are constantly growing larger and finer. The South Kensington 
is a vast set of fire-proof buildings, with halls, galleries and connecting Museum 


.oiiciofi. 


41 


corridors. It is said to 
be more perfectly suited 
to its purpose than any 
other building in En¬ 
gland. The collections 
include specimens and 
gems of all branches of 
art, arranged for study 
and education, as well § 
as to be interesting and n 
give pleasure to ordina- S 
ry visitors. Here may o 
be seen paintings, sculp- ^ 
tures and tapestries, em- ^ 
broideries, metal work ^ 
and pottery, beside ^ 
many other collections k 
of the art-work of every h 
age and nation. The r. 
grounds of the inclosed “ 
courts are adorned with o 
statues and fountains, ^ 
and laid out with pleas- j,. 
ant walks, where people | 
love to come and enjoy g 
the bright flowers, music ^ 
and gay companies al- § 
ways gathered here in 
pleasant weather. o 

Near the outskirts of g 
the city, and some dis- 
tance north of Hyde 
Park, is Regent’s Park, 
which has a botanical 
garden, the finest mena¬ 
gerie and zoological 
garden in the world ; and 
many delightful walks 
and places of interest. 



































































































42 


London. 


Besides the many large parks which almost encircle the outskirts of London, the city 
is full of small parks and squares which make “ breathing places ” in all its busy quarters. 

About midway between Regent’s Park and Waterloo Bridge is the British Museum, 
an immense building with Ionic columns along the wings and portico of its broad front. 
In the entrance hall are beautiful pictures and statues, and carefully arranged through¬ 
out many rooms are thousands of paintings and sculptures, beside great collections in 
natural history and almost every other branch of study. In the center of the block, sur¬ 
rounded by the Museum, is the New Reading Room, a great circular hall covered by a 
large dome of glass and iron. It will accommodate at one time nearly four hundred readers 
or writers, who sit in numbered seats at tables which radiate from the center of the room 
like spokes of a wheel. The library of the British Museum is one of the largest and 
finest in the world. Some distance to the eastward, occupying about the center of Lon¬ 
don, is the old and famous Law Quarter, from above High Holborn (street) to the 
Thames. Here are the celebrated law colleges of Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, Furnival’s 
and many others, where some of England’s greatest statesmen have spent their study days ; 
here are the new Courts of Justice, Fetter Lane, Chancery Lane, and other 
streets far-famed among barristers and solicitors. Beyond the Strand and Fleet 
street are the great law schools and other buildings of the temple, on the Vic¬ 
toria Embankment. Eastward from here is the City. Up busy Fleet street and Ludgate 
Hill, stands the Cathedral of St. Paul’s, which was built in 1643. A church has always 
stood on this ground since the time of Ethelbert (A. D. 610), although several times 
burned down. St. Paul’s was designed by the great English architect, Sir Christopher 
Wren, who also planned many of the most noted buildings in England, including the 
London Custom House, Temple Bar, Buckingham, Marlborough and one of the Towers 
of Westminster Abbey. St. Paul’s is in the form of a Latin cross, five hundred feet 
long, with arms half as wide, and stands in the highest part of London. It is a great, 
massive building, crowned by one of the largest and most beautiful domes in the world. 
In the Whispering Gallery a slight sound made near the wall on one side may be heard 
distinctly by an ear near the wall over a hundred feet away. Outside the dome are the 
Stone Gallery, and the Golden Gallery above, from which the streets of London look 
like a Lilliputian world. The monuments of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Samuel Johnson, 
Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and many other great men, mostly admirals and 
generals, have been placed in St. Paul’s. 

If you go along famous old Cheapside, one of the great shop-lined streets of 
the City, leading from St. Paul’s, nearly opposite the Mansion House (which is the resi¬ 
dence of the Lord Mayor of London) you can see the great Bank of England. 
Excepting the handsome north-west corner, it is a plain-looking building which covers 
about four acres, and lighted from inner courts. This Bank is the most important 
in the world. Besides its own immense business it manages the debt of the Government 


1 













<H«»aLi 


rtiin/i 


iiK^i 


liiiimwt 


ml iJll'l; •=* 
iiiliitii ill|| 


THE EXTERIOR OF ST. PAUL’S, LONDON 



























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































44 


Cities of tJie Jf'or/d. 



for wliich the Bank re¬ 
ceives a great deal of 
money. On every side 
it is surrounded by build¬ 
ings, filled with the of¬ 
fices of brokers, stock¬ 
jobbers and men of all 
money-handling b u s i - 
nesses. Close by is the 
Royal Exchange, 
hemmed in by shops on 
the outside, but built 
with a handsome inner 
court, surrounded by col¬ 
onnades ; a statue of 
Queen Victoria stands in 
the center, while others 
of Queen Elizabeth and 
Charles I. occupy cor¬ 
ners. The other Ex¬ 
changes are further to 
the eastward, and to¬ 
ward the Thames. 
On the bank of the 
Pool, beyond London 
Bridge, stands the fam¬ 
ous Tower of London. 

This old fortress, 
or castle, was begun by 
William the Conqueror ; 
and Henry III. who 
often lived here, built 
the larger part of what 

WESTERN TOWER, ST. PAUL’s, LONDON. 

thirteen acres of ground, surrounded by a moat, inside of which is a double line of walls 
and towers. These inclose a ring of buildings made up of chambers and towers for 
barracks and military stores, the great, square White Tower being in the center. For 
many years the Tower of London has been used to imprison people accused of crimes 
against the sovereign or the government. Now-a-days besides keeping the scepter, crown. 












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































46 


Cities of the World. 


and other Royal ornaments, it is principally used as an arsenal and barracks, and for 
a very fine collection of ancient arms and armor. Every gate, room and corridor is full 
of historic interest ; each of the Twelve Towers of the Inner Ward has its story, and 
many have the chapel of St. Peter, and the Traitor’s Gate, leading to the Tower Hill, 
beyond the moat: “ The history of the Tower of London is the history of England.” 

Liverpool, lying on the hill-side and bristling with countless smoke-emitting chim¬ 
neys, beyond a wilderness of black rigging, has been many a visitor’s first view of an 



prince’s landing, LIVERPOOL. 

English city. Sailing up the Mersey for miles before one reaches the town, he sees if 
there happens to be no fog, pleasant suburbs on both banks of the river. On the right. 
New Brighton gradually becomes Birkenhead ; and on the east side after leaving 
Waterloo, the ship sails on to the great port of Liverpool, past miles of granite wall, 
behind which are eighteen miles of quay-margin, crowded with shipping. These docks 
are five miles long, and one of the “ lions ” of Britain. The tide is strong enough here 
to injure vessels, lying in the river ; so forty great docks were built, all joined together, 
and surrounded by strong stone walls, in which are immense flood-gates, only opened to 
let vessels pass at high tide, tlius keeping the docks always filled with the same height 
















THE TOWER OF T.ONDON 



















































































































































































































































48 


Cities of the World. 


of water. The river is filled with craft, especially ocean steamers. The steam-tugs and 
“ side-wheelers ” plying between the docks and wharves on the two sides of the river, (for 
Birkenhead is like a part of Liverpool), are very different from the ferry boats about 
New York. When they reach the shore, they do not fit into a slip, but draw up along 
side a large floating platform, which is attached to the top of the pier by gang-plank 
bridges. 



STRAND STREET, LIVERPOOL. 

Liverpool is the home of nearly six hundred thousand people, more than live in Chicago, 
Illinois. It was in existence before the Normans conquered England, but did not become 
of any importance until during the last century. It is now the second city of England, 
and one of the greatest commercial centers in the world. Sloping toward the river, it is 
handsomely built up, for the most part in soft yellow and gray sandstone, trimmed 
with blue or red granite. Many of the streets are short, steep and irregular, while others, 
fine and broad, run in every direction. Near the river it seems all made up of grim, dull 
warehouses, some of which are ten stories high. A few blocks away is the business 
center of the town, which is also the handsomest part, for “ in Liverpool Trade is enthroned, 
with Cotton as prime minister.” Between ten o’clock and three there is no busier scene 
















Liverpool. 


49 


in town than around the statue of Nelson in the center of the Flags, the paved square 
inclosed on three sides of the Exchange and Town Hall. These buildings cover two 
acres of land, and are finely built of pale, soft stone, in what is called the French Renais¬ 
sance style. Of the interior the great News Room, with its splendid decorations and 
stained glass dome in the center, is the most beautiful. Dale street, with its magnificent 
new public offices, leads eastward from the Exchange to the most notable building in the 
city, St. George’s Hall. This stands on Lime street, which is like a great open square, 
occupying about the center of the town. The appearance of St. George’s Hall is 
massive, complete and beautiful. The southern portico stands above a flight of 
broad steps, with its colonnade of fluted columns and richly-sculptured pediment. Its 
sides are five hundred feet long; and in front of the eastern portico, also colonnaded, 



THE BROWN FREE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, LIVERPOOL, 

are horseback statues of the Queen and Prince Albert, from which an immense stone 
staircase leads to the ground. The interior is occupied by many court rooms and 
assembly halls, the largest being the grand hall, used for banquets and other festivities. 
This contains a fine organ and pieces of statuary ; it is magnificent in itself, especially 
the arched ceiling, which is richly decorated and supported by two rows of polished 
granite columns. Around St. George’s Hall are gathered other handsome buildings: the 
Free Library, with thousands of books ; the Museum, containing an aquarium and very 
interesting and valuable collections in curiosities and specimens of natural history, and 
the free school of science connected with them. The New Reading Room is built in 
the form of a rotunda and surrounded by a circular row of high columns, and is next to 
the Art Gallery, which has a fine exhibition of paintings by great artists. Other places 
of importance and interest stand on the streets surrounding and leading from Lime street. 
Handsome stores and bright crowds are seen in Castle street. Lord street and Bold street, 
near by, while beyond are nothing but houses. Here are many fine open squares 
surrounded by beautiful homes, and scarcely a trace of likeness to the lower part of the 








50 


Cities of the World. 


city is seen. There are four parks on the outskirts, which contain gentlemen’s man¬ 
sions surrounded by beautiful grounds. The parks are inclosed by iron fences, but 
people are free to walk or drive in through the gates. Sefton Park and the Zoological 
Gardens are the most interesting to visit. 

Four days in the week are market days in Liverpool when the people from the 
country come in great numbers with produce from their farms, with cattle and horses. 
Almost every kind of trade and manufactory is carried on in the busy city. The ship¬ 
building yards are large and there are foundries and factories for nearly every thing 



PERCH ROCK LIGHT, LIVERPOOL. 

wanted on ship-board, beside extensive works in many other articles. Railroads running 
through the city are in tunnels under the houses, or upon great arches above the roofs. 

Manchester is the largest manufacturing town in the kingdom. Salford on the 
west side of the river Irwell, is connected with it by many bridges, and is considered a 
part of the city. There are about four hundred thousand people in Manchester, which 
makes it next in size to Liverpool. It lies about thirty miles* to the northeast of the 
great sea-port town, and is connected with it by railroads and the famous Bridgewater 
Canal. Many of the streets of this very old city have been made large and handsome ; 
and in public improvements Manchester has led all the towns of England. It has fine 
water works and city institutions, excellent public libraries, museums ; and among the 
notable buildings are some warehouses as handsome as palaces. Most of the great 
buildings are in what is called the Gothic style of architecture. The Assize Court is 
said to be one of the best built structures in the world. It is very large, stands so as to 
look well, and is composed of various colored and polished granites. The wealth of 
decoration upon this Court has not only beauty but “ a root in history.” There is a 
grand hall inside, one hundred feet high, fifty feet wide and seventy-five feet in length. 
The roof is open timber, with many beautiful designs in its arrangement, and delicate 











FREE TRADE HALT.. MANCHESTER 







































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE ASSIZE COURTS, MANCHESTER. 

tion. while Manchester is known above all others in every kind of cotton industry, while 
it also has lar^e mills for making silk, worsted, cloth, glass, paper, and other things, 

Birmingham, which stands nearer to the center of England than any other large 
city, has about as many people in it as Manchester, or as Boston, Massachusetts. It 
stands on rolling ground, on the east side of three hills, by the Rea and Tame rivers ; 
so it is bountifully supplied with water, and well drained, too, by nature. It is divided 
into two parts, the old town, which is crowded with work-shops and factories, and the 
new, which is more open, and has some fine buildings. There is scarcely a city of 
England with a more interesting history than Birmingham. It has been an important 
manufacturing town for centuries. When Charles II. came back from France to take 
his throne again, he brought a fashionable rage for metal ornaments, which Birmingham 


Cities of the World. 


carved tracery. A stained glass window at the end of the hall pictures the history of the 
Magna Charta. There are a great many churches in Manchester ; the finest and largest is 
the cathedral, called the “ Old Church and among the most noted monuments standing 
in some of the city squares are the Prince Albert Memorial, in Albert Square, a bronze 
statue of Richard Cobden, the English “Apostle of Free Trade,” in St. Ann’s Square ; 
and Oliver Cromwell’s statue, at the foot of Victoria street. There are also schools,, 
colleges, and universities in the city ; but other towns of England are famous for educa- 














INTERIOR ROYAL EXCHANOF MANCHESTER 















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































54 


Cities of the World. 



briskly began to supply, and won for itself the name of the “toy shop of Europe.” 
People then called it “ Brummagem ” instead of Birmingham, and before long any 
worthless things with a glittering outside, especially false jewelry and ornaments, 
were called “ Brummagem ware.” 

There are great iron and coal mines near by ; but no use was made of these until 
after James Watt found out how to make steam engines, and, with Matthew Boulton, set 


THE ROYAL EXCHANGE MANCHESTER. 

up his great Soho Works near the town. Since then Birmingham has been famous for 
making steam engines, hydraulic presses, and almost every kind of hardware and 
machinery, including swords, which, in 1643, it not only supplied, but also used to good 
purpose on the side of Parliament against Prince Rupert and his lancers ; and during 
the Crimean war every week this city sent three thousand muskets to the Government. 
There are many famous events and names in English history connected with the town, 
of which the visitor is reminded by the statues and monuments he sees as he goes about. 
























Bimningkam, 


55 



Some of the public buildings are very handsome ; and the great Town Hall, which has a 
magnificent organ, is large enough to hold sixty thousand people, who come to the grand 
musical festival held here once every three years. 

Birmingham supplies all England, some of Europe, and even America, with large 
quantities of first-class fire-arms, ammunition, swords, metal ornaments, toys, jewelry, 
buttons, buckles, lamps, pins, steel-pens, tools, locks, bedsteads, saddlery, steam engines, 
and all sorts of machinery. The mint strikes more than eighty thousand copper coins 


KING EDWARD SCHOOL, BIRMINGHAM. 

every day. There are about one hundred and fifty churches, a cathedral, charitable 
institutions, schools, colleges, institutes, free libraries, a botanic garden, an art gallery, 
and four public parks in the famous old town. 

The great linen and woolen industries of England are centred at Leeds. It stands 
about forty miles from Manchester, keeping on in the same northeasterly direction from 
Liverpool. The city holds nearly three hundred and fifty thousand people, about twice 
as many as Buffalo, New York. Some of the largest tanneries in the kingdom are here. 
So besides its famous linen and woolen trade, Leeds manufactures boots and shoes ; and 
also worsteds, silk, iron, glass, paper, tobacco, oil, earthenware, and other things. There 
are many fine buildings and churches in and about the city, of which St. Peter’s is the 
greatest. It is very large, and the tower, a hundred and forty feet Iwgh, contains a peal 
















56 


Cities of the World. 


of thirteen bells. The inside is very interesting with its fine statues, the monument in 
memory of the men of Leeds who fell in the Crimean War, and many beautiful stained 
glass windows. Less grand, but more interesting still, is old St. John’s, which has not 
been changed since it was built two hundred and fifty years ago. About three miles 



TOWN HALL, BIRMINGHAM. 

from the town are the fine old ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, which was built in the twelfth 
century. Roundelay Park is a handsome public pleasure ground about two miles from 
the city. .The notable buildings of Leeds are the Exchanges, especially the Corn 
Exchange, which is a handsome oval building. Institutes, Hospitals, the Philosophic 
Hall and Museum, the Bank, and Post Office, beside the great Town Hall, which is one 
of the finest in England, with a tower as high as those of Westminster Abbey. It is 
two hundred and fifty feet long and two hundred broad, covering five thousand six 
hundred square yards, for it must be large enough to hold all the people who 
come from far and near to the great festival. A noble statue of the Duke of Wel¬ 
lington stands in front of the Hall, and an immense one of the Queen is in the vesti¬ 
bule. Other statues and decorations make the inside very beautiful, where also there 
is one of the largest and most powerful organs in Europe. 

Among the important manufacturing towns of England is busy, smoky Sheffield, 































PLACE, WHITE CI.OTH HALL AND ROTUNDA, BIRMINGHAM. 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































^8 


Cities of the World. 


famous for cutlery. It lies south of Leeds and west of Liverpool, in the central part of 
the country. It has about three hundred thousand people, who are mostly connected 
with the many busy mills for manufacturing all kinds of iron and steel implements. 
Sheffield not only makes a great deal of cutlery, but some of the best in the world. It 
supplied all the United States until we began to make our own. 

Bristol, which is in the southwestern part of the Kingdom, about eight miles 
from the mouth of the British Channel, is a little smaller than New Orleans, with 

two hundred and twenty-five thousand 
people living in it. It is a noted center 
for foreign trade, chiefly with America,. 
Russia, France, Portugal and the 
Mediterranean. Bristol has many fine 
buildings, and some very old ones, one 
of which is the Temple with a lean¬ 
ing tower. 

The finest worsteds in England are 
made at Bradford, not far west of 
Leeds. This town is the great whole¬ 
sale market in the 
worsted and alpaca 
trade. It is about 
one-quarter larger 
than Newark, New 
Jersey, with nearly 
two hundred thou¬ 
sand people. The 
famous Saltaire al¬ 
paca and mohair 
mills are here, 
which cover more 
than six acres, on 
the Aire River, 
and are said to be 

the most splendid set of factories in England. Bradford also has large cotton mills 
and foundries, besides manufactories for machinery, combs, and other things, and 
Lister’s silk mills, which are the largest in England. With all its busy cares it has 
become noted for liberality and enterprise throughout the Kingdom. 

Hull, on the Humber River near the North Sea, is the great eastern port of the 
north of England. It is a little smaller than Bradford, but has an immense shipping 



TOWN HALL. BRADFORD. 










H^ill and Newcastle. 


59 


business, and unusually fine docks. There are a number of factories in the town 
chiefly to supply the shipping wants. The Holy Trinity is a beautiful Gothic 
church, whose transept is the oldest brick building in England. There is a training 
school for sailors in Trinity • House School, and among the few artistic beauties 
of the city are an equestrian statue of William III., and a statue of Wilberforce. 

The largest town in the north of England is Newcastle, so named long ago when 
a castle was begun there by Robert, the son of William the Conqueror, and finished by 
William Rufus. The town has about one hundred and fifty thousand people, and is 
not much smaller than Hull. It is especially known from its great trade in coal, which 

is very large, and began as 
long ago as the reign of 
Henry III. Newcastle also 
supplies English com¬ 
merce with a great many 
ships and iron vessels, be¬ 
sides making glass, loco¬ 
motives, railway carriages, 
iron - ware, paper, glue, 
Armstrong cannon and 
other things. The old 
town was once held byjthe 
Romans ; and beside the 
fine ruins of Henry II.’s 
castle, the visitors find in 
it a great deal that is 
wonderful, beautiful, and 
of historic interest. 

Although every town of 
any size in England has 
good schools, and many 
SCHOOL DAYS AT ETON. them, colleges and uni¬ 

versities besides, the only business of several of the famous towns of the Kingdom 
is education. 

There are school towns and university towns. The most famous of the school 
towns are Eton and Rugby. Eton is on the Thames, opposite Windsor Castle, which is 
about twenty miles from London. This little town, known all over the world, has only 
one well paved street, and scarcely any business. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI., 
and has nearly a thousand students every year, to seventy of whom, called King’s 
Scholars, the Government gives board and teaching free. 












6o 


Cities of the World. 



Almost as well known, is Rugby, which is upon the Avon, about eighty miles from 
London. This was started about a hundred and twenty-five years after Eton, by Law¬ 
rence Sheriff, a London shop-keeper. This has also about a thousand boys, who would 
tell you that one of the best things about Rugby is the ’leven-acre foot-ball and cricket 
ground. 


BRIDGE, ST. John’s college, Cambridge. 

Other famous preparatory schools of England are at Westminster, Harrow and 
London, which send graduates every year to the great universities, especially Oxford and 
Cambridge. 

In the midst of rich and wooded meadows on the north bank of the Upper Thames, 
the spires, towers, and domes of Oxford rise. This old town, about fifty miles north¬ 
west of London, was standing in the eighth century. It has now about forty thousand 
people (the size of Camden, New Jersey), and is full of historic interest even outside of 






















Oxford and Cainbridge. 


6i 


the University, which takes up most of the town in twenty Colleges and five Halls. 
The oldest College, “University” or “ Baliol,” was built in the latter part of 1200; 
fourteen of the buildings were raised before the Reformation, which was in the sixteenth 
century. It is said that High Street, which is about one thousand yards long, has the 
greatest number of noble buildings of any street of its size in Europe. Besides the 
University buildings, Oxford has fine halls, hospitals, museums, laboratories, and chapels ; 
a printing house, called the Clarendon Press, one of the finest libraries in Europe, and 
the Botanic Gardens near the Cherwell River. 

The city of Cambridge stands by the River Cam, about fifty miles north of London. 
It has about as many people as Denver, Colorado, or thirty-five thousand. The town char¬ 
ter was granted by King John in 1200 ; but long before that time, scholars, or “clercks,” 



SENATE HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE. 

(as the people who could read and write were called), used to gather here to study. 
They made up a society of students after a while. Then different societies were formed, 
for different branches of study, and in this way the college system of education began. 
The societies of Cambridge were given Royal support in the latter part of the thir¬ 
teenth century. One at a time, seventeen different colleges were founded, mostly by Kings 
or members of the Royal families. King’s College, the most imposing of all, was built by 
Henry VI., and Trinity College, by Henry VH I., who also set up a number of professorships 
in the University. Among other noted buildings in Cambridge are the Senate House, 
where the examinations are held, and all the public business of the University done ; 
splendid libraries, museum, picture galleries, botanic gardens, and a very fine observa- 
torv. There are usually about two thousand students at the University, besides many 
graduates who live here. 











FRANCE. 


B rilliant, beautiful Paris, the pride of the French, the delight of travelers, lies 
like some splendid gem on a fair and sunny plateau in the center of northern 
France. Around are low hills, on whose slopes are the gardens of the town flower 
dealers, while the blue waters of the Seine make a bold curve in the heart of the city, 
which they enter at the south-east and leave at the south-west. 



OLD PARIS. 

The French capital is a walled city, covering nearly thirty square miles. Its greatest 
length is east and west, although the moat and towers of its fortifications almost describe 
a circle in surrounding the town. Within these defenses is one of the great boulevards, 
for which Paris is so famous. It completely encircles the city, and is called the Military 
street, although every section of it has its own name. Another set of boulevards forms 










1 



PAKrS. ALONG THE SEINE 

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































64 


Cities of the World. 


an inner circle nearer the center of the city. These were built in the reign of Louis 
Philippe, where the old city ramparts once stood, when the walls of Paris inclosed about 
one-fourth of the present space. Of these the semi-circle lying north of the river is known 
as The Boulevards of Paris. Here stand the finest of the handsome buildings, the most 
magnificent stores, and here the brightest crowds of busy people are always to be seen. 

Besides these, other boule¬ 
vards extend in every direc¬ 
tion, as if the late Emperors 
had laid a network of broad, 
beautiful avenues over the 
finer meshes of the narrow 
and irregular streets of earlier 
days. In all the better parts 
of the city the thoroughfares- 
are lined with trees, seats and 
little towers, called vespasi- 
ennes, while restaurants, cafes, 
shops and places of amuse¬ 
ment stretch on and on for 
many miles, broken only by 
fine open squares. 

Outside the walls on the 
western side of Paris is the 
great pleasure ground of the 
people, the Bois de Boulogne, 
which is said to be the most 
beautiful public garden in 
Europe. It contains nearly 
three thousand acres, being 
about three times the size of 
Central Park in New York. 
Beside the immense aquari¬ 
ums, bird pavilion, garden 
for cassowaries and ostriches 
to be seen, there are miles of lovely walks and drives through avenues of tall 
handsome trees, past lawns, flower-beds and beautiful lakes. Like the Drive in 
Hyde Park of London, every pleasant afternoon the avenues of the Bois de Bou¬ 
logne are filled with a pageant of beautiful and gorgeously dressed people taking 
their daily airing. The principal avenue is a hundred yards wide, and at the upper end 



ARC DE L ETOILE. 













BOULEVARD MONTMARTRE 












































































































































































66 


Cities of the World. 


leads to the Gate of Maillot, one of the fortified entrances to the city. From here a 
grand street runs the full length of Paris, ending at the Gate of Vincennes, which lies 
above another charming park, the Bois de Vincennes, on the eastern outskirts. This 
one avenue, which in different places bears various names, contains a large part of the 
greatest buildings in France. At the entrance gate, it is the Avenue of the Grand Army, 
which stretches, broad and handsome, to an immense open square, where ten avenues 
or boulevards come together, forming the Place of the Star. In the center is Napoleon’s 
triumphal arch, called, from the place where it stands, Arc de I’Etoile. It is about a 
hundred and fifty feet high, and almost as broad, with great arched entrances on all 
sides. It is adorned by pictures in relief, representing the victories of the Emperor, and 
is said to be one of the finest pieces of architecture in the world. Three of the avenues 
from here run in a southerly direction, one to the Bois de Boulogne, and two to Place 
du (which means square of) Trocadero, where the Trocadero Palace stands. This is a 
huge crescent-shaped Oriental building, erected for the exhibition of 1867. It faces the 
river with a handsomely laid out park extending to the banks. The Palace contains a 
hall for concerts and several interesting collections in the museum galleries. From the 
great dome, which crowns the building, there is an extended view of Paris. The large 
sandy space opposite is a military parade ground, the Champ-de-Mars (Field of Mars), 
and the bridge leading to it is the Pont de Lena. The Champ-de-Mars is five hundred 
and fifty yards wide and twice as long. At the further end stands an imposing building 
with a Corinthian portico and square dome above, it is the military school of France, 
and contains a pretty chapel like that of the royal palace of Versailles. Within the outer 
buildings are colonnaded courts ; altogether they cover twenty-six acres of ground, and 
include infantry and cavalry barracks large enough to hold ten thousand men and eight 
hundred horses. Two avenues lead from the School or the Champs, across the White 
Bridge, which is some distance above the other, back to the Arc de I’Etoile. A short 
avenue northward, another branch of the great Star, leads to the little park of Monceaux, 
with its beautiful gardens of plants, and statues, historic tombs and grottoes, and the 
colonnade encircled lake, the Naumachie, one of the remains of its more luxurious days, 
when Monceaux was an imperial pleasure ground. It is now an interesting and refreshing 
piece of green, surrounded by fashionable houses, sumptuous hotels, and broad boule¬ 
vards. Beyond the Arc de I’Etoile, the Avenue of the Grand Army becomes the Avenue 
of the Elysian Fields, or Chatnps-Elys'ees. In the summer evenings this avenue is a blaze 
of light. From the halls and places of amusement overlooking the broad thoroughfare 
come the sounds of music, while hundreds and thousands of people are walking or sitting 
beneath the grand old trees. At small tables on the side-walk men and women sit, sip¬ 
ping coffee and gayly talking ; rich and poor, in a happy, contented and economical way, 
are resting and enjoying themselves after the work and care of the day. Back and forth, 
riding and walking, others are going to the Bois de Boulogne, or eastward to where the 


Paris, 


67 



Champs-Elysees broadens into a magnificent tree-planted garden. The avenue con¬ 
tinues straight on the full length of the park, which, filled with fountains and beautiful 
buildings, extends to the Quay de 
Conference. This is one of the 
splendid set of stone river walls 
of Paris which for six miles line 


HOTEL DES INVALIDES. 


napoleon’s tomb. 

both sides of the Seine. They 
are made with broad paved 
promenades, lined with trees, 
beautified with statues and 
plants, and furnished with 
benches and sidewalks. Some 
of these quays were built in the 
fourteenth century ; for Paris 
is a very old city. You may 
have read of it in Csesar’s Coni- 
meniaries^ where it is called 
Lutetia, the home of the Gallic 
tribe, Parisii. A fine, stone 
bridge, the Pont des Invalides, 
at the south-western corner of 
the Champs-Elysees, stretches 
to the Quai d’Orsay, which is a 
broad, pleasant embankment, 
on the left bank of the river, 
extending from the Field of 


















































68 


Cities of the World. 


Mars, around the curve, and almost to the center of the city. The bridge is built in 
arches and ornamented with military statues and trophies, for it is the most direct way 
from the western part of Paris to the great Soldiers’ Home, and the Hotel des 
Invalides. A boulevard runs from the bridge along the west side of the Invalides, 
while in front of it, a great esplanade, the size of the Field of Mars, bordered with 
several rows of trees, stretches from the river to the dry moat of the outer court, 
where the “ Triumphal Battery ” bristles with a row of cannon taken by France from 
her enemies. 

The Hotel des Invalides is two hundred years old. It covers about thirty acres, and 
is really a group of magnificent buildings around grand open courts. The vast three¬ 
storied front is almost as long as the width of the Esplanade. The roof, facade and 
gardens are all decorated with military statues and arms. The Hotel includes a 
fine military library and collections of many works of art, armor and artillery, beside 
the home for disabled soldiers, which Louis XIV. founded, to assure a happy existence 
to those who had lost property or blood in the cause of their country. The principal 
entrance leads to the Grand Court, which is surrounded by two tiers of imposing arcades. 
Opposite the grand portico the Church of St. Louis is seen, with a statue of Napoleon 
in the center of the upper arcade. Beyond is the gilded roof and spire of the Dome, 
which contains the tomb of Napoleon. This chapel maybe reached through the Church, 
but is quite separate from it, with an entrance on the Place Vauban, the head of many 
broad streets, which, from various directions in the southern part of the city, come 
together at the Invalides. The Dome is said to be the most beautiful religious monument 
built in France since the Renaissance, which was the revival of the style of the ancients 
in building, and reached France in about the sixteenth century. The Dome is a square 
edifice, with a circular tower above containing twelve windows and a lofty gilded dome 
bearing reliefs representing military trophies. The cross above the lantern which sur¬ 
mounts the Dome is about three hundred and fifty feet high. The rich sculptures and 
symmetric columns of the outside are no greater in beauty than the interior, where 
statues, pictures, mosaics and bas reliefs adorn the various chapels ; and beneath the 
dome, in an open circular crypt, rests a great coffin of polished red Finland granite, 
containing the remains of Napoleon. They were placed here according to the wish of 
the Emperor. The words from his will are on the chapel door : “ I desire that my ashes 
may rest on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people that I love so 
well.” The walls, the pavements, and even the ceiling, repeat the story of the great 
Emperor’s deeds. Facing the entrance to the crypt, in a cave of black marble, lighted 
by a single lamp, is a white marble statue of Napoleon represented in his imperial 
dress, with all his decorations and medals of honor, the sword of Austerlitz and the 
golden crown presented to him by the city of Cherbourg. 

Among the cafes, restaurants and other buildings in the southern part of the 


Pai'is. 


69 


Champs-Elysees, is the Palace of Industry, which was built in 1854 for the Universal 
Exhibition, and is now used for different exhibitions, particularly the great yearly show 
of paintings and sculptures, called the Paris Salon. The building faces the main avenue, 
and occupies nearly one-third its length. An immense arcade of Corinthian columns 
flanks the principal entrance ; above is a bas relief representing Industry and Arts 
bringing their products to the Exhibition. In the various wings and galleries of this great 
pavilion are many fine and interesting collections, while in the center is an immense glass- 
covered hall fifty feet high, and nearly six hundred and fifty feet long. Opposite 



PALACE OF INDUSTRY. 

the Palace of Industry, beyond the main avenue, the Champs-Elysees connect with the 
gardens of the Elysian Palace. This stands beyond the Avenue Gabriel, skirting the 
Champs-Elysees on the north, and fronting on the next street, the Rue St. Honorc. The 
Palais Elysees has been celebrated in French history from the days of Louis XIV., and has 
seen many uses. Now-a-days it is the residence of the President of the Republic. It 
stands upon a terrace, and is built with a gallery and stone balustrade overlooking the street 
after the Italian fashion. The monumental gate in the center is a triumphal arch, supported 
by Corinthian columns, and beautifully embellished by war trophies, ensigns and 



























70 


Cities of the World. 


standards of the State. Within are the President’s apartments, a banquet or reception 
hall and rooms richly decorated, particularly with tapestries. The main avenue of the 
Champs-Elysees, with its theaters, its fountains, trees, cafes and restaurants, ends in the 
largest and most beautiful square in Paris, the Place de la Concorde. It occupies an 
immense square much larger than the Place de I’Etoile, between two beautiful parks, the 
Champs-Elysees and the Garden of the Tuileries, bounded, as they are, on the north by 
the Avenue Gabriel (the eastern part from here being called Rue de Rivoli), and on the 



PLACE DE LA CONCORDE. 


south by the Seine, which is here crossed by the Pont de la Concorde. This is more 
used than any other bridge in Paris, and leads to the Quai d’Orsay in front of the two 
great squares of handsome public buildings adjoining the Esplanades des Invalides. 
From the center of the Place de la Concorde is a magnificent view of the river, the verdant 
gardens and great buildings. The long rows of lights in the evening seem to stretch 
up the Champs-Elysees in a “ never ending vista ” toward the Triumphal Arch. On 
all sides of the Place, but not inclosing it, are noble buildings with deep arcades of 










Paris. 


71 



columns and richly sculptured fronts. Eight stone figures standing here represent the 
chief towns of France. In a straight line from the bridge are two magnificent fountains 
on either side of the Obelisk of Luxor, a tall red monument of a single stone from the 

ruins of Thebes. Beyond is 
the Rue Royale, at the head 
of which stands La Made¬ 
leine in full view from the 
Place. This is the Church 
of St. Mary Magdalene, 
built in the style of a 
Greek temple. It is about 
a hundred and fifty feet 
broad and a hundred high, 
built of stone, without any 
windows, and is surrounded 
on all sides with a line of 
Corinthian columns. A 


INTERIOR OF THE 
MADELEINE. 


broad flight of steps 
in front leads to the 
portico with its won¬ 
derful bronze doors 
over thirty feet high 
wrought into designs 
taken from the Old 
I'estament and relat¬ 
ing to the command¬ 
ments of God. The 
pediment above the 
front colonnade is 
covered with sculp- 
t u r e s representing 
Christ as the Judge 


THE MADELEINE. 


of the world, with angels and men on either side, and 


Mary Magdalene praying for the condemned. The inside is walled and paved in 




















































7 


Cities of the World. 


marble, with decorations in gold and rich colors. Thiough the stained-glass win¬ 
dows of the dome marvelous lights shine on polished columns and grand pieces of 
sculpture, fresco and painting. La Madeleine stands on a triangle-shaped place, 
at the apex of which, in front of the Church, two great sections of The Boule¬ 
vard meet. One on the west is from the Parc Monceaux ; the other runs north¬ 
eastward and ends on the Place du Opera, a couple of blocks away. This, too, is a 
center for half a dozen important streets and boulevards, one of which runs southward 
to the Rue de Rivoli ; but about midway it spreads out into the eight-sided square of 
the Place Vendome, with the statue of Napoleon in the center, on a great stone shaft, 

which is an enlarged copy 
of the Column of Trajan 
at Rome. It is covered 
with bas reliefs illustrat¬ 
ing the battles of the 
Emperor, made upon 
bronze plates cast out of 
Austrian and Russian 
cannon. The square is 
faced by majestic, but 
monotonous - looking 
buildings ; it overlooks 
the center of the Garden 
of the Tuileries at the 
other end of the street. 
This Jardin des Tuileries 
is an oblong park about 
as large as the Champs- 
Elysees. It is made up of beautiful terraces with rows of orange trees, delightful walks 
and groves, flower gardens and grass plots, adorned with statues, vases, fountains and 
basins of water, round which the children play from morning till night, and nurses sit 
watching their little charges. 

The Palace of the Tuileries, which was built by Catherine de Medici as a royal 
residence in 1564, gave the name to these gardens. During centuries of service as an 
imperial residence, they had become connected by galleries with the Louvre a quarter 
of a mile to the east, and with it made the most magnificent building in the Empire ; but 
in the Commune in 1871, the Tuileries part was nearly all destroyed. The pavilion 
nearest the river has been restored, and the north wing rebuilt, and in time the ruins of 
the Palace will probably be forgotten in the new halls and galleries, which will stand 
handsomer than of old, stretching away to the Louvre, beyond the Place du Carrousel. 














Paris. 


73 


Two bridges cross the Seine here : Pont Solferino from about the center of the Gardens 
and the ancient Pont Royale from the western corner of the Palace. On three sides, the 
Palace of the Tuileries overlooks a Court which is separated by a railing from the Place 
du Carrousel. This is the heart of the French capital. It was once an open space 
between the Court of the Tuileries and the squares of the Louvre, but when Napoleon 
connected the two Palaces between which it stood, the Place du Carrousel became 
flanked with galleries which stood above the street, so that it was still a public 









GARDEN OF THE TUILERIES. 

thoroughfare. The Place was given the name Carrousel after a fete, which was 
a sort of horse-back ball, given by Louis XIV. in 1662. In the center stands another 
Triumphal Arch, which was begun at about the same time as that of I’Etoile. It has 
three arches and is made of bronze and marble, with embellishments of statues and bas 
reliefs. Upon the top is a figure representing the Restoration in a chariot drawn by 
splendid horses, copied after those on the portal of St. Mark’s in Venice, which were 
brought here as a trophy, but sent back by Emperor Francis. The Louvre has a great 
quadrangle of buildings at the eastern end, with double galleries, or wings, stretching out. 




Cities of the World. 



on bolh sides, to the tiers above the Place du Carrousel. The Louvre Is the most 
important building of Paris, both in architecture and on account of its vast treasures of 



THE LOUVRE. 

art. Parts of it are very ancient, too. The hollow square at the eastern end was begun 
some time during 1500 for a royal residence. After centuries this quadrangle was com¬ 
pleted, then enlarged by add¬ 
ing the wings. The kings and 
queens of France were very 
fond of putting up splendid 
palaces : and as one came after 
another, this royal mansion 
grew in beauty and magnifi¬ 
cence. On the fa9ade toward 
the east are twenty-eight great 
Corinthian columns in pairs ; 
this is five hundred feet long 
and ninety feet high. The 
newer buildings and galleries 
connecting with the Tuileries 
GRAND GALLERY IN THE LOUVRE. have massive showy facades 
















Paris. 


75 


and pavilions roofed with domes, Corinthian half-columns, caryatids and colossal 
statues. Since the latter part of the eighteenth century the Old Louvre, as the quad¬ 
rangle is called, has been used as a museum, and now the whole of the great pile is 
devoted to collections, which, taken together, are the most valuable, interesting and 
beautiful in the world. They have been growing under the best taste and care in France 
since the sixteenth century . The galleries, halls and all the apartments are so vast in 
extent that it takes two hours to walk through them without stopping. The apartments 
themselves are rich and beautiful, while their well-arranged collections comprise 
magnificent pictures, rare sculptures and curiosities, with antiquities of ancient Egyptian, 
Greek and Roman art. 



bridge of arts and louvre palace. 


The Bridge of Arts crosses the river from the center of the Old Louvre to the 
Place in front of the crescent-shaped faqade of the Palace of the Institute. The Insti¬ 
tute of France is a great society made up of five branch societies, called Academies, 
each devoted to special branches of learning or art. United they form the intellectual 
guide of the Republic,—just as there are heads of the military, naval and other 













76 


'Cities of the World. 


important departments of the nation. The Institute is devoted to the progress of 
science, general usefulness and the glory of France ; not so much to teach as to judge. 
An artist or author who is recognized by the Institute is famous and successful, but if 
they ignore or criticise him unfavorably he is condemned. Each Academy, according 
to its own special branch, exists to help along what is good and annihilate what is poor. 
Above the Corinthian portico overlooking the water is an immense dome, while on either 
side the long arcade wings extend toward the east and west. The courts within are 
used as public thoroughfares, but are flanked by the public and private buildings of the 
different branches of the Institute, the great library, and valuable collections of art, 
science and antiquities. 

The School of Fine Arts, near by, was founded about 1650 for the teaching 
of painting, sculpture, engraving, gem-cutting and architecture. It occupies the Palace 



PONT AU CHANGE, PALACE OF JUSTICE AND THEATRE DU CH.ATELET. 

of Fine Arts, a pile of massive and handsome buildings of the present century, standing 
between the Pont du Carrousel and the Pont des Arts. This palace abounds in artistic 
beauty, with its fine gates, columns, statues and reliefs, while it contains an excellent art 
library, models, drawings, portraits and rare pictures. Exhibitions of the students' 










Paris, 


77 


work are held here once a year, when all are carefully examined and criticised by the 
Academy of Fine Arts. In this vicinity there are many other general and special art 
schools, for in Paris the beautiful seems to be the grand pursuit of life, after which, if 
there is time, the homely and practical side may come. Adjoining the Institute on the 
east the Hotel des Monnaies, or the Mint, stretches a facade of Ionic columns for almost 
four hundred feet along the broad quay. La Monnaie, as it is called, contains, beside 
the departments where the money of France is made, financial offices and an extensive 
museum. In the statue-adorned vestibule there are cabinets of metals used in coining, 
ancient coins, medals and postage stamps. In the principal hall are cases of French 
coins arranged according to date from the earliest times down to the present ; other 
cabinets are of foreign 
money of every country, 
among which is a Chinese 
coin of 1700 B. C.; an¬ 
other room shows models 
of instruments and fur¬ 
naces used in coining ; 
and these are but a part 
of the objects of interest 
in the Mint of Paris. 

The vicinity of the 
Louvre, on either side of 
the river, is a part of the 
great French city never 
to be forgotten. The 
Rue de Rivoli, with its 
gay stores, bright cafes 
and massive buildings of 
light-colored limestone, 
carved and ornamented 
everywhere, is next to 
the Boulevards in 
beauty and life. Immense 
open squares afford space 
for statues and fountains, while a solid grandeur is behind all in the imposing buildings 
many stories high. Even the private houses are built around huge blocks and, towering 
skyward with six or seven floors, one above another, are large enough to be occupied by 
twenty separate families. The different apartments have a common staircase from the 
inner court, which is reached by a gateway on the street, kept by a porter. 




































Cities of the World. 


?8 


Above the New Louvre, the northern wing now occupied by the Ministry of France, 
there opens upon the Rue de Rivoli the bright and busy Square of the Royal Palace, or 
Place du Palais Royal. On the right and left are fine hotels, the easterly one being 
the Grand Hotel du Louvre, one of the three largest in Paris. The ground floor of this 
is taken up by some great stores, for which the Place is noted. On the north side is 
the Palais Royal, built and occupied by Cardinal Richelieu. Until the death of the 
statesman-priest it was called the Palais-Cardinal ; but from that time until the Com¬ 
mune of ’71 it was occupied as a royal residence or by members of the imperial 



PALAIS ROYAL PLACE. 

family. Now, after being completely restored, it is mainly used by the State Council, 
and for objects of historic interest. Beyond the Palais proper are the gardens and 
arcades of the Palais Royal, an immense block of jewelry and fancy stores built 
around a garden seven hundred and fifty feet long and about three hundred and fifty 
wide. It is shaded by rows of elms and limes, and filled with fountains and statues. 
The arcades once held the best shops in Paris ; they are still fine, but are scarcely 
equal to those of the Boulevards ; the floors above contain restaurants and cafes. 
Beyond the rear of the Palais Royal is the Bil>liotheque Nationale, or National Library, 















































Paris. 


79 



a block of buildings which holds the largest and finest library in the world. It containc 
one million and three hundred thousand books, over a hundred thousand valuable 
manuscripts, five thousand rare engravings, and a vast collection of coins and medals. 
The book-cases placed in line would make about forty miles of excellently-bound books 
of the best editions published. The buildings surround five inner courts and are plain 
but imposing, while the interior displays some very fine decorations. Beyond this 
Bibliotheque Nationale, still further to the eastward from the Palais Royal, is the Bourse, 
or Exchange, a handsome building surrounded by Corinthian columns and copied from 


PALAIS ROYAL GARDEN. 

the Temple of Vespasian in the Forum at Rome. It stands in the center of an 
immense square, shaded with trees. The Parquet, which corresponds to the Floor of 
the New York Exchange, is surrounded by a pillared gallery from which, during the 
few hours of business, visitors look down upon the tumultuous scene of excited brokers, 
yelling and gesticulating wildly. The Bank of France, lying east of the Palais Royal, 
is a plain, substantial building, of little interest outside its business. On the western 
side of the Palais Royal is the Theatre Frangaise, or French Theater, which is ranked 
first among the places of amusement in the city. The handsomest part of the build¬ 
ing is the vestibule, which contains fine statues and figures. The foyer, corridors and 





















8 o 


Cities of the World. 



hall are richly decorated and well arranged. A small square in front of the Theatre, 
with bronze statues and two fountains, stands at the foot of the Avenue de I’Opera, a 
broad, straight thoroughfare, lined with blocks of enormous buildings, leading to the 
Place de I’Opera. From here 
the superb New Opera House, or 
the National Academy of Music, 
looks down the avenue into the 
heart of Paris. L’Opera is the 
largest in the world, covering 
nearly three acres of ground. 

Between four and five hundred 
houses were removed for the 
site, and the richest materials of 
Europe were brought to erect 
the building. The principal en¬ 
trances are at each end of the 


INTERIOR OF THE BOURSE. 


front, through two sculptured 
arches, which stand out from 
the long arcade of the por¬ 
tico. The second story is set 
with Corinthian columns in 
colored marble, and is orna¬ 
mented with gilt and bronze ; 
above are magnificent mosa¬ 
ics and reliefs, and a low 
dome crowns the center in 
front of a huge pediment on the point of which is a group of beautiful statuary, corre¬ 
sponding to other groups on the roof, above the entrances. L’Opera is entered 
through th i gilded gates of the portico. The magnificence of the interior is scarcely 


THE BOURSE (sTOCK EXCHANGE). 
























Paris. 


8 r 


to be compared with what we have seen outside. Directly opposite is the Grand Stair¬ 
case with its dividing flight of white marble steps, on the lower half of which fifty people 
can stand abreast; balustrades and hand rails are of precious stone, tiers of balconies 
above are separated by colored marble columns rising to the third story, while the bril¬ 
liant light of hundreds of lamps is shed all around on the sumptuous beauty of every 
kind of desirable decoration. The Salle, or theater proper, is also elaborately decorated ; 
the ceilings are painted with allegorical scenes on copper ; the rich curtain is of plain 



THEATRE FRANCAISE. 


red and gold, while stage boxes, galleries and walls lack neither sculpture, paintings nor 
mosaics to make them gorgeous and luxurious. The stage is jiearly two hunared feet 
in height, almost as wide, and seventy-five feet deep. The Grand Foyer, or lobby, is 
handsomest of all; it extends the full length of the first floor of the building ; it is 
lighted by gilded lusters and huge candelabra, hanging in long lines in front of great 
columns which, from floor to ceiling, extend the length of the apartment in pairs The 
decorations look as if made of solid gold, while at the end a huge mirror is placed so as 
to make the hall appear of unlimited length. Above the doors, and in every possible spot 
are pieces of sculpture, painting and reliefs, all with reference to music and art, some o 
which are so fine that the Grand Foyer might well be called a gallery of art 

Eastward from l’Opera,the Boulevard with its handsome stores, blocks of houses and 












82 


Cities of the World. 


throngs of people gradually reaches the poorer quarter at the two most famous gates of 
Paris, St. Denis and St. Martin, triumphal arches, which were once the northern 
entrances to the City, through the ancient ramparts. St. Denis, the finer of the two gates, 
was built in honor of the conquests of Louis XIV. in Holland and Germany ; huge 
obelisks in relief upon the facades are ornamented with sculptures of the trophies taken 
in the Netherlands. St. Martin Gate has one large and two small archways, and in 
simple decorations commemorates other victories of “ Louis le Grand.” The Gates 
stand near together where the thickly settled streets are crowded with vehicles and 



OPERA HOUSE. 

people. From here, two great Boulevards run for miles through the city, crossing the 
river and leading far away beyond the walls to the suburbs on the southern outskirts. 
Beneath these Boulevards are the principal canals of the vast network of sewers which 
underlies Paris and keeps it one of the healthiest cities in the world. For an hour every 
morning when the water is turned on an army of housemaids may be seen with their 
brooms, washing the streets, so that when the traps are closed the thoroughfares are 
neat and clean from one end of the city to the other, the refuse of the previous day 
being carried away under ground. The sewers are so well built and ventilated that 

















































Paris. 


8 



cars, arranged to run on the ledges of the canals, often carry parties of ladies and 
gentlemen for miles over them. 

The catacombs, also 
famous subterranean pas¬ 
sages of Paris, were made 
by quarrying under the 
city for the limestone of 
which most of the build¬ 
ings are made. They are 
on the south side of the 
river and are now almost 
completely lined with 
bones and skulls, placed 
here from the cemeteries, 
or remains of the bodies 
rudely thrown in during 
the Revolution and the 
Reign of Terror. East¬ 
ward from Porte St. Martin 
on the Boulevard is the 
Place de la Republique, 
from which large streets 
and small run in every 
direction. It resembles 
the Place de la Concorde, 
and when the present 
work upon it is finished it 
will be one of the finest 
squares in the city. Be¬ 
low the Gates is the con¬ 
servatory of Arts and 
Trades, one of the greatest 
industrial schools and mu¬ 
seums in Europe, once a grand staircase, opera house. 

Benedictine Abbey. The buildings are of the Gothic style and very fine ; they contain 
large collections in models and machinery of every kind. The Salle-Echoon the ground 
floor is like the Whispering Gallery of St. Paul’s in London. The school teaches and 
trains workmen in every branch of applied science. Beyond the Conservatory a side 
street from the Rue St. Martin leads to the Halles Centrales, the great provision markets 
















84 




Cities of the World. 


of Paris. This vast structure is of iron covered with zinc, and consists of ten pavilions 
with covered streets between, across which a boulevard over a hundred feet wide runs to 

the Rue de Rivoli, one square 
eastward of the Louvre and 
westward of the Tower of St. 
Jacques, which stands on the 
Rue de Rivoli between the 
cross - town boulevards, of 
which St. Martin is one. This 
square Gothic tower is all that 
remains of an ancient church, 
taken down about a hun¬ 
dred years ago. In the hall 
on the ground floor is a statue 
of the philosopher Pascal, who 
made some experiments with 
air on the summit of the 
Tower. St. Jacques is a hun¬ 
dred and seventy-five feet 
SAINT-DENIS GATE. high and affords the finest 

view that can be obtained of Paris. Up and down the river are the arched bridges, 
broad tree-lined quays, great 
buildings and squares. Through 
the city are the pretty green 
“lungs,” as they have been 
called in London, and a laby¬ 
rinth of streets and boulevards. 

The main avenue which we 
have followed from the Gate 
of Maillot through the Champs 
Elysees, past the Jafdin des 
Tuileries and the Louvre, is the 
same that lies at the foot of the 
Tower ; beyond, it passes the 
Hotel de Ville, or Town Hall, 
which is a new building scarcely 
finished to take the place of the 
old one, which, until the Com¬ 
mune of ’71, had served the 


SAINT MARTIN GATE. 




























Paris. 


85 




town for more than a hundred years. The new buildings are modeled after the old 
ones in the form of a vast rectangle, containing three inner courts, surrounded by public 
offices and gorgeous reception 
rooms. The four fagades have 
niches in which eight-foot stat¬ 
ues of more than one hundred 
eminent people born in Paris 
are to stand. Many names have 
been already chosen, but twen¬ 
ty-four places will be left for 
those yet to be called great. 

Beyond the Hotel de Ville the 
busy, crowded Rivoli passes St. 

Paul’s church and enters the 
Place de la Bastile, the square 
of greater historic interest than 
any other in Paris. In the cen¬ 
ter stands the Column of July, 
on the site of the old prison 
fortress of the Bastile, “ the em¬ 
blem of tyranny ” which the 
Revolutionists demolished on 
the 14th of July, 1789, so that the sewers of Paris. 

not one stone was left on another. This is one of the most beautiful monuments in the 
capital. A great square, ornamented with bronze medallions, supports the white marble 

pedestal, also decorated with 
bronze, on which rests the 
fluted Column, of bronze, with 
the names of the “July he¬ 
roes ” emblazoned in gilt let¬ 
ters. Above the lantern on 
the top is a figure of Liberty 
holding a torch in one hand 
and fragments of broken 
chains in the other. Within 
the Column a staircase leads 
to the top, from w'hich there 
is a fine view ; beneath there 
are large vaults, where the 


CATACOMBS. 














86 


Cities of the World. 



remains of those who fell here during the Revolution rest in stone coffins. The handsome 
store-lined streets, pretty gardens and throngs of people surrounding La Bastile show no 
traces of the great events which have taken place here ; the times have changed : history 
not locality, preserves the story of the thrilling scenes of the Revolution of 1789, the Insur¬ 
rection of 1848 and the Commune of 1871. Beneath La Bastile is the Canal St. Martin, 
by which barges and small tug-steamers enter Paris from the north-eastern suburbs and 
reach the Seine under the shrubberies of the Boulevard Richard le Noir. The Canal 


meets the Seine beneath a quay opposite the Jardin des Plantes, which covers seventy- 
five acres of ground, beautifully laid out, and containing the larger part of the institutions 
of Paris for the study of the natural sciences. Museums, lecture-halls, parks and 
galleries are devoted to collections of natural history, geology, minerals, and botany, 
zoological and botanical gardens, libraries and laboratories, all of which are very fine and 
well arranged. The Boulevard, crossing the water by the Pont d’Austerlitz, here begins- 
its southern semi-circle by separating the Jardin des Plantes from the Hospital of 
Saltpetriere, which covers even more acres than the Jardin, and although only devoted 
to the care of aged and insane women, is said to be the largest in the world. Paris, with 


INTERIOR OF THE HALLES CENTRALES. 



































































Paris. 


87 



all its beauty and happiness must have a great deal of sorrow and sickness, for there are 
about twenty hospitals, beside a large number of other institutions for the half-sick, blind, 
deaf and dumb, insane and 
otherwise helpless. 

From the Tower of St. 

Jacques the river is seen to 
divide below the Canal St. Mar¬ 
tin and to pass the Isle of St. 

Louis. This is connected with 
both the main banks by a bridge 
at the upper point, and, at the 
southern end, with the north 
shore of another and a larger 
island. The He St. Louis is a 
dull and retired spot in the 
midst of one of the liveliest 
parts of the city ; it contains 
little that is interesting except 
the Lambert Mansion and some 
other ancient buildings. But the 
lower island, which is both 
broader and longer, extends 
from about opposite the Hotel 
de Ville to the Monnaie, or 
nearly to the Louvre. This is 
the He de la Cite, the most an¬ 
tique part of Paris, and the cen¬ 
ter of the city in the ancient 
days of the Middle Ages, when 
that small district marked by the 
Inner Boulevards was Paris, in 
three divisions. La Ville on the 
North bank, the Latin Quarter 
or L’Universite on the south. La 
Cite on the island between. It is 
very closely built up, crossed by the parallel streets from St. Denis and St. Martin Gates, 
skirted by fine quays and connected with the mainland by many bridges. On the eastern end 
is the grand old Cathedral of Notre Dame, on ground that has been occupied by a church 
since the fourth century. The Cathedral itself was built during the twelfth and thirteen cen- 


NOTRE DAME. 



























88 


Cities of the World. 

turies. It is in the Gothic style, and on the front rises three stories high, with two square 
and massive towers above. The three doors are made in Gothic recesses and occupy 
the entire north of the front, with great Gothic windows on either side, a Catherine wheel 
window above. The whole of the imposing facade is adorned with columns, rich carving 
and sculptures. The outside of the body of the church and the transept too are very 
beautiful. Where the transept crosses the nave, a spire of wood rises, which is 
covered with lead and about one hundred and fifty feet high. The columns, arches 
and stained-glass windows and wood carving inside the Cathedral are beautiful and 
interesting for so old a building, which has been many times almost demolished by the 
ravages of war. The chapels contain a number of monuments 'and fine frescos •, the 



HOTEL DIEU AND NOTRE DAME. 

treasury holds some very ancient sacred relics ; and in one of the towers is a bell brought 
from Sebastopol as a trophy ; the other has the great Bourdon de Notre-Dame, one of 
the largest bells in the world. The Cathedral is surrounded by shrubbery and open 
squares, in one of which there is a beautiful little Gothic fountain ; and on the other, 
the Parvis Notre Dame, the new Hotel Dieu, stands at right angles with the Cathe¬ 
dral. The original Hotel Dieu was probably the oldest hospital in Europe, founded in 





































Paris, 


89 


660 ; this one is an immense pile, made up of three distinct sets of buildings which 
serve for a large hospital, and a college for training in medicine and surgery, famous 
throughout all Europe. 

Below the Hotel Dieu, which with the Parvis Notre Dame occupies the entire width 
of La Cite, is the famous old Bridge of Notre Dame, connecting the main street of the 
island with St. Martin Boulevard. Opposite the great hospital are the flower markets, 
the headquarters of the Parisian police, the firemen and health officers, which with five 
buildings of the Tribunal de Commerce are separated by the second of the parallel 
boulevards from the Palais de Justice. This vast collection of buildings occupies nearly 



TRIBUNAL OF COMMERCE. 


all the remaining portion of La Cite. The land was once covered by the ancient palace 
of the Kings of France, presented to the supreme court of justice in the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury. Four towers of the old palace are still standing, which, with the Kitchens of St. 
Louis and the Sainte Chapelle, are all that are left of the original buildings. Even the 
new buildings were so destroyed by the Commune that most of the Palace of Justice 
which we now see are mainly buildings of the last twenty years. In the Grand Court, 
adjoining the boulevard, are the broad steps of the principal entrance, adorned by 



































90 


Cities of the World. 


statues and surmounted by a great square dome. The court-room is one of the largest 
in the world, being about two hundred and fifty feet long and almost two hundred wide, 
in the form of two vaulted galleries ; it is embellished with statues and decorations, and 
opened into by many courts. Other galleries and halls of the Palace are taken up by 
the offices of the law. From the Grand Court three vaulted passages lead toward the 
Sainte Chapelle, which was in olden times the palace chapel, and is now, to-day, the most 
perfect gem of Gothic architecture in the world. The “ Mass of the Holy Ghosts,” the 
only service now held in the chapel, is celebrated once a year when the courts open 
after the autumn vacation. It consists of a lower chapel, containing tombs of saints, 
from which a spiral staircase leads to the upper chapel, where the service is held. The 
magnificent stained-glass windows framed in beautiful tracery, take up almost the entire 
walls, while the other parts of the interior are richly decorated in many colors, harmon¬ 
izing with the windows. Statues of the Apostles are placed against the pillars, and 
behind the altar is a Gothic canopy in carved wood. The lower part of the Palais de 
Justice on the north side of the river is occupied by the Conciergerie, a famous prison of 
France, whose grim walls and strong locks have confined Marie Antoinette, Danton, 
Robespierre, and many others whose names will never fade from the history of France. 
Beyond the Palais are the flower-beds and brick houses of the Place Dauphine, and the 
renowned New Bridge which stretches from the left to the right bank of the Seine, across 
the western end of La Cite, with a notable bronze statue of Henry IV. in the center. 

South of La Cit6 is the thickly settled Latin Quarter, with its schools and colleges, 
centuries old. The famous Sarbonne, built by Cardinal Richelieu, is here. It contains 
lecture halls, class-rooms and four laboratories of the University of France, beside a 
large public library. Near by is the College of France, where free public lectures are 
given by eminent scholars and teachers ; the Polytechnic School ; institutes of medicine, 
law, arts and all branches of knowledge. The Pantheon is not far away from the Sar¬ 
bonne, on the continuation of St. Martin Boulevard. This was begun as a church in 
1764, but before it was flnished was converted into a temple to the great men of the 
nation by the Convention of 1741 ; but a late emperor again made it a church of St. 
Genevieve. The great and beautiful building is in appearance partly a church and 
partly a temple, with its colonnaded peristyle, beautifully carved pediment and lofty 
dome above, surrounded by columns ; the same is seen within,—lofty arches, galleries 
and pillars, majestic and magnificent. The fine frescos in the cupolas are but a part of 
the works of art in painting, sculpture and statuary which still tell the story of the two 
uses of the Pantheon. A short street from St. Genevieve leads to the Gardens and 
Palace of Luxembourg, facing a broad, straight avenue running to the Palace of the 
Institute. Luxembourg was built by Marie de Medicis, in the Florentine style. It is 
adorned with pillars, and consists of pavilions which are no longer royal apartments, 
but have been converted into the use of galleries for paintings and works of art by great 



THE NEW HOTEL DE VILLE, PARIS. 































































































































































92 


Cities of the I Cor id. 


artists, and to the Senate during the building of the new Hotel de Ville. The halls and 
galleries and other parts of the palace are of handsome size a.nd beautifully decorated. 
The grounds, representing the famous Boboli Gardens at Florence, are the only ones 
in Paris which have been allowed to remain in the Renaissance style. They are laid 
out with lawns, marble fountains, flower-beds, balustrades, steps, terraces, shade trees 
and statues, through which an avenue runs to the celebrated, observatory of Paris. 
This is a very important little place in connection with the science of astronomy, and 


MILLER. FISH SALESWOMAN. MASON. GASMAN. 



COMMISSAIRE. WASHERWOMAN. MECHANIC. PERAMBULATING PLUMBER. 

contains a rare museum of instruments over which astronomers pore with delight, 
especially the great parallactic telescope in the copper dome. The meridian of Paris 
runs through the center of the Observatory, which is connected by telegraph with 
others of the greatest importance in Europe. 

Beside all the gayety and all the grandeur in Paris, there is a great deal of industry 
















NEW BRIDGE 


































































































































94 


Cities of the World. 

and hard work. There are over two millions of people to live and be supported 
here. The majority of them earn their own living, save money and are happy. An 
immense trade is carried on at the shops and stores, while in making rich and costly 
fabrics Paris leads the world. There are many factories of all kinds throughout the 
city, but particularly for watches, clocks, scientific instruments, silks, valuable shawls, 
and the famous Gobelins tapestries, which have been standing in the same place in 
the southern part of Paris since 1450. 

Paris fancy goods, known as articles de Paris, are a special branch of trade, 
and are made with so much refined taste that they are always in demand ; but 
about every kind of French manufactures have the peculiarity of elegance in 
form and color, cheapness and durability. There are about four hundred and 
fifty thousand artisans in Paris, who, whatever their trade, labor with clever 
hands and fine judgment for pay that ranges from eighty cents to a dollar and a 
quarter per day ; but some, especially quick and able, make as much as four dollars 
a day; there are all sorts of people at work here, artists, scholars, merchants, 
mechanics and laborers, from all nations. Paris boasts of being the most cosmopolitan 
city in Europe, with all that is remarkable and characteristic of the entire French 
nation gathered in and about it. The great walls and moat make it a gigantic fortress. 
Round it lie a number of independent forts, each with a history dear to the people, 
whether of glorious victories or sad defeats ; and adjacent are famous parks and 
chateaux. At St. Denis, on the north, is the Cathedral La Basilique, once the burial 
place of the French kings; on the west lies the palace and garden of St. Cloud, the 
favorite residence of the Napoleons, where many important conferences were held, 
and great events that affected the entire government started; on the south-west 
is old Versailles, which has been associated with long chapters of the public and private 
history of the French Court ever since 1682. The magnificence of the chateaux. Grand 
Trianon, Petit Trianon, and all the palaces, the gardens, the celebrated fountains which 
grace this town and noble park,—these alone repay many a traveler who has crossed 
high seas for the sight of Paris ; still further south is Fontainebleau, splendid and 
beautiful now, with wonderful associations of three centuries clinging to its massive 
walls and verdant surroundings. The extensive palace, made out of a medieval fortress 
in the first part of 1500, stands at the south-west side of the town of Fontainebleau in 
“ the most beautiful forest in France.” 

To the French people all these environs, with their valuable museums and 
galleries, are as a part of the beloved capital, the grandest, the most beautiful, the most 
desirable place in the world. “The whole nation is accustomed to be governed from 
cint center, to follow every movement that originates there, whether it leads to revolution, 
to monarchy, to imperialism, or to republicanism.” Long live the Republic! 


95 


Lyo7is. 

Lyons is the most important manufacturing city of France, and, after Paris, the largest. 
It stands where a long, low and narrow peninsula has been made by the rivers Rhone 
and Saone. At the southern end of the town the Rhone receives the waters of the 
Saone and then flows directly southward to the Gulf of Lyons, on the Mediterranean. 
The city extends to the low hills surrounding the peninsula, and is encircled by a wall 
of fortifications thirteen miles long. From the rivers, gradually becoming less closely 



LYON. 

set with buildings—some of which are large and handsome, others small and old—the 
town stretches out toward beautiful vineyards, gardens and villas. Water-ways and rail¬ 
ways branching from it show Lyons to be an important commercial city, and the looms, 
factories and markets tell that its trade is chiefly its own manufactures and the products 
of the vicinity. Silk stuffs of all kinds made here are the most important in the world ; 
while in other mills are made nets, cotton goods, blankets and hats ; and some factories 























96 


Cities of the World. 


and shops supply a large trade in gold and silver lace, chemicals, drugs, liquors, earthen 
ware and other things. This busy town has about four hundred thousand people living 
in it, about as many as Birmingham, and more than our own Boston in Massachusetts. 
The two rivers are crossed by twelve bridges over the Saone, to the western part of the 
city ; and by seven over the Rhone, which lies to the eastward. There are about thirty 
quays lining the four banks, to accommodate the large traffic which centers at Lvons, 
the “great warehouse of Southern France and Switzerland.” 

Soon after entering the city the Saone makes a bold eastward curve toward the Rhone 
at the foot of the hill of Fourvieres, on the west bank. Convents, hospitals and semina¬ 
ries stand here overlooking the town, while high above all, on the summit, is the famous 
cathedral, Notre Dame de Foutvieres, visited by one and one-half million pilgrims every 
year. It stands over four hundred feet high, and has been called Fourvieres from the 
ancient forum, which stood on the spot in the days of the Romans, who occupied the town 
about fifty years before Christ. The interesting old church, with its lofty tower and 
figure of the Virgin, two hundred feet high in air, was built in the ninth century. From 
this hill the view of Lyons is very fine. Below are the splendid quays, full of merchan¬ 
dise, crowded with ships and busy people ; opposite is the narrowest part of the peninsula, 
except where the rivers meet, and the principal part of the city in the great square, 
called the Terreaux. Here are the Hotel de Ville, famous throughout the Republic for 
its size and beauty ; the Opera House and the Palais St. Pierre, which was once a 
convent but is now an institute for science and literature, the art school and library, 
picture gallery, and museums of sculpture, archeology and natural history. Broad, 
straight streets and public squares, with fine buildings, extend southward to the 
great Belle Cour, which is one of the largest squares in Europe. On the east and 
on the west are large monumental fronts, while in the center is a statue of Louis XIV. 
on horseback. Along the quay, past the Cour, is the fine old military hospital of Hotel 
Dieu. Other places, broad avenues and fine buildings in this vicinity extend to the 
Perache Quarter, which is the aristocratic part of Lyons, and about half-way from 
Fourvieres to the meeting place of the rivers. Below are the railway station, docks and 
factories, prison and arsenal, not beautiful parts of Lyons, but full of life and interest. 
Across the Rhone from this lower part of the city is a wretched quarter of working¬ 
men’s houses, crowded with old buildings eight or ten stories high, through which it 
seems impossible to put any broad thoroughfare ;^but above, opposite the Terreaux, is 
the long range of medical college buildings, and, extending to the eastward, the hewer 
part of the city, Avith fine, broad streets, comfortable and even handsome blocks of 
houses. It is not far from this pleasant quarter of Lyons—which is growing very fast— 
that the city park lies, being north-eastward from the Terreaux. The Parc du Tete 
d’Or, with its lawns and trees, its botanical and pharmaceutical gardens, green-houses of 
orchids, palm trees and rare plants, and its cages of wild animals, covers almost as much 


Marseilles. 


97 


ground as Hyde Park, in London, and is said to be one of the finest in France. On 
the whole it is a stately city that lies here upon the rivers, within the circle of the 
garden-covered hills ; fine old Roman aqueducts tell of ancient palmy days, while 
crowded quays, bustling streets and smoke curling from a hundred chimneys bespeak 
for Lyons a growth with the times, and greater wealth, life and importance to-day than ever 
before. Although Lyons is about two hundred miles from the sea, it is constantly in 



MARSEILLES. 

communication with it, through large vessels which make their way back and forth, up 
and down the rapid, picturesque stream. The Rhone enters the Gulf of Lyons so near 
Marseilles that the river may almost be said to flow from the largest manufacturing city 
of the Republic to its greatest seaport. The entrance to Marseilles is guarded by three 
fortified islands and marked by light-houses. Here, outside, are also great docks or 
basins, extending for over a mile, and including about a hundred acres, with magnificent 


































98 


Cities of the World. 


great warehouses looming up behind them. Now, a round peninsula is seen standing 
out on the right side, with its military parade ; beyond is the Chateau du Pharo, which 
Napoleon III. built himself for a marine villa ; now the narrow strait is reached, 
guarded on the north by Fort St. Jean and on the south by Fort St. Nicklas ; beyond is 
the inlet, running right up into the heart of the town. This is the famous Old Harbor, 
or Port of Marseilles, and, lying around like the seats of an amphitheater, is the ancient 
town—the which Julius Caesar took from the Greeks after they had occupied 

it for more than six hundred years. The Port covers nearly seventy acres, and can 
accommodate twelve hundred vessels. Altogether the harbor of Marseilles, old and new, 
has an area of nearly five hundred acres and four and a half miles of quays, which, it is 
said, is not enough for the immense traffic of the city. From the margin of the inlet 
the ground, rising on all sides, is thickly set with buildings and encircled beyond by hills 
covered by vineyards and olive gardens, dotted here and there with white country 
houses. The old town lies on the north side of the inlet, with the spire of the ancient 
Church of Accoules marking the center. At the foot of the spire is a “Calvary,” 
and a curious modern chapel built in rock-work. Here the old streets are narrow 
and closely lined with irregularly-built houses ; but few ancient buildings or even ruins now 
remain. There is the new Cathedral of Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in about the 
center, near the coast; standing where the Massilian citadel did when besieged by 
Caesar, it is on the site once occupied by a temple to Diana, and before then by an altar 
of Baal. The cathedral is scarcely finished now. It is built of gray Florentine stone, 
blended with white, a Byzantine basilica in the form of a great Latin cross. The 
Bishop’s Palace is near by and a grand seminary, both fine buildings, which are connected 
with the newer part of the town by a few broad modern streets, that have been 
pushed through the old quarters. The main thoroughfare of Marseilles extends through 
the center of the city to the eastern outskirts, from the inner end of the harbor. On 
this, near the Port, is the Bourse, with its Corinthian portico and sculptured vestibule 
and handsome interior, larger than the Bourse of Paris. The Hall of the Chamber of 
Commerce is the finest part of the building, its walls being magnificently decorated with 
paintings and gildings. The main street crosses many other fine and busy avenues, 
containing great stores, cafes and restaurants, some of which are almost as splendid as 
those of Paris ; at the upper end is the Longchamps Palace of Arts, which was built 
about fifteen years ago. With its two long pillared wings and the beautiful fountain 
in the center this is said to be one of the most beautiful buildings of La Belle France. 
The terminus of the Marseilles Canal is here, and bringing the waters of the Durance 
into the city, have made the dry and bare suburbs into blooming, fertile gardens. 
The second great thoroughfare of Marseilles runs the length of the town and 
crosses the first above the Bourse. It extends from the triumphal arch of the Aix 
Gate at the north to the opposite suburbs, where the broad Prado Promenades make 


Marseilles. 


99 



an angle near the Hippodrome and the park of the Palais Borely, where all the Grecian 
remains of Marseilles are collected. Toward the sea from here the rocky hill of Notre 
Dame de la Garde is seen, one of the most venerated churches on the Mediterranean 
shores. Sailors look with devotion toward the gilded dome and statue of the virgin 
holding the Infant Jesus in her left arm and extending the other toward them in 
blessing. Within, this Byzantine shrine is filled with the votive offerings of sailors. 


FOUNTAIN OF LONGCHAMPS PALACE OF ARTS, MARSEILLES. 

fishermen and their wives : miniature ships and ostrich eggs hang from the ceiling, 
while many other quaint and strange gifts are seen from grateful souls long since 
jiassed away. On both sides of the steps below Notre Dame are shops and booths, 
with medals, chaplets, and other objects of devotion for sale. 

It is on this side of the port and in the southern half of the city that the handsome 
streets and buildings of Marseilles are seen. On the Rue St. Fevreol is the palace-like build- 








































lOO 


Cities of the World. 



ing of the new Hotel de la Prefecture, adorned with statues and has reliefs, and containing 
a fine staircase, a large reception room, decorated with paintings. On the Rue Paradis is 
the Palais de Justice, with fine pediment and peristyle decorated with has reliefs, and 


NOTRE DAME DE LA GARDE, MARSEILLES. 

outer hall surrounded by pillars of red marble. The imposing new School of Art is near 
the center of the city, with the Library and other notable educational institutions. The 
other parts of Marseilles, although not so imposing, do their share toward the beauty of 
the city by their brisk trade in shipping and manufacturing, which employ thousands of 
people and bring in a great deal of money. In population it is about as large as Lyons, 












Nunes, Toulouse and Bordeaux, 


lOI 


but being the packet station for Italy and the East, and connecting with many 
cities by rail, it has also a large number of transient stayers, people who are constantly 
coming and going. 

Marseilles in the South of France is connected by rail with Bordeaux in the 
western part of the country, 
which is the fourth city of 
the Republic. One of the 
two most interesting cities on 
the route is Nimes, with its 
Roman ruins and busy mills. 

It is made up of three hand¬ 
some suburbs and a dirty little 
town, where ten thousand 
looms are constantly at work 
in weaving silk and cotton. 

Among the beautiful remains 
of Roman buildings are the 
Amphitheater, the Maison Car- 
ree, of the Corinthian style. 



AMPHITHEATER, NIMES. 

the Temple and Fount¬ 
ain of Diana, the Great 
Tower, baths, and two 
Roman Gates. The Pont 
du Gard is the fine old 
ruin of an aqueduct, also 
built by the Romans. In 
ancient days Nimes was 
one of the chief cities of 

MAISON CARREE, NIMES. 

pally given up to making shawls, handkerchiefs and lace, besides brandy, wines 
and other things, and has scarcely seventy thousand people. Toulouse, further 
west, is much larger, having about as many inhabitants as Washington, the capital of the 
United States, or one hundred and fifty thousand. This, too, is an old city, with a 































102 


Cities of the World. 


cathedral, a fine town hall, called the Capitate, and a great many schools, academies and 
museums, besides a large public library. The city is celebrated for duck-liver and 
truffle pies ; its manufactures are wool6ns, silks and leather, cannon, steam engines and 
other things. It is nearer to Spain than any other large city of France, and so has a 
large trade with the kingdom across the Pyrenees. Toulouse stands near the head waters 
of the river Garonne, about two hundred miles from its mouth and a hundred and fifty 
miles from Bordeaux. This city lies near the western coast of France,‘in about the same 
latitude as Bangor. Maine, or St. Paul, Minnesota, which is nearly midway between 
Lyons and Marseilles. It is mostly on the western bank of the Garonne, and in shape 
very much like a broad, old-fashioned lace collar, with meshes of spacious squares made 
by handsome streets and avenues running in every direction, and surrounded by a broad 
and beautiful boulevard. At high tide vessels of a thousand tons can come up from the 
sea into the capacious harbor, where the river expands to a width of two thousand feet. 
The splendid sweep of this water front is one of the sights of Europe, with its fine quays 
and great buildings, from above which an antique spire and great Gothic towers cast 
their shadows over a forest of shipping and one of the most magnificent stone bridges in 
France. The heart of the town is the Place des Quinconces, fronting on the river, with 
two lofty columns, and opening into fine avenues and streets leading in all directions. 
Here are the principal hotels, warehouses and public offices of the city, which are all 
large and attractive-looking buildings. The Grand Theater is particularly noted,” with 
its portico of Corinthian columns and beautiful Italian architecture. Adjoining the Place 
beyond is the“Cours of the 30th of July,” a short but very wide avenue connecting 
the main thoroughfares from all parts of the city, and leading to the Jardin des Plantes. 
This is a public garden which also has a botanical garden and large conservatories. 
Near by are picture galleries, a collection of armor and war weapons of all ages, a 
museum of antiquities and cabinets of natural history, showing shells, birds, fossils and 
marbles, which are very valuable and interesting. Bordeaux was a prosperous and 
important town in the days of the Romans in Gaul, who built a great amphitheater 
here, the arches of which are still standing near the Gardens. The northern part is 
new and openly built, a “ sprawling city ” ; beyond the great cross-town thoroughfare, 
south of the Place Quinconces, are old streets, narrow and thickly settled, but among 
which several broad new avenues have been laid out. This is the business part ; on the 
quay is the Bourse, with its great glass dome, and beyond, at the head of a magnificent 
promenade leading from the bridge is the ancient Palace Gate, which in olden times was 
the entrance to the Palace, where Louis XL established the Parliament of Bordeaux. 
This promenade, called the Cours Napoleon, extends to the most notable group of build¬ 
ings in the city, near the south-eastern limits. These include, among others, the Hotel 
de Ville, St. Andre’s Hospital and the old Cathedral, with its tall Gothic spires, pointed 
portal, beautiful rose window, statues and bas reliefs. Part of the Cathedral of St. 


Na7ites, Havre and Roiien. 


103 


Andre was built by the English, who, about a century after the Norman conquest, took 
possession of Bordeaux and held it for three hundred years. The brilliant court 
of the Black Prince was held in the palace, and in the cathedral Richard II. of 
England was christened. The great tower, detached from St. Andre’s but near by, is 
the Tour de Pey Borland. It is two hundred feet high. The square buttresses which sup¬ 
port it at the base gradually grow less, and the tower becomes circular at the top, where it 
is crowned by an immense statue of the Virgin and Child. A great deal of the business 



BORDEAUX. 

of the city is connected with its commerce. There are courts, banks, offices and ware¬ 
houses in great numbers ; railways and canals employ many people in the trades of the 
celebrated Bordeaux wines, or claret, corn, fruit and produce of the farms and vineyards 
of Southern France ; the most important manufacture of the town is ship-building ; the 
foreign trade is mainly with the United States, South America and Mexico, Great Britain 
and the French colonies. Nantes, further north, near the coast of the Bay of Biscay, 
































104 


Cities of the World. 


is on a deep harbor near the mouth of the Loire river. It has nearly one hundred and 
twenty-five thousand people, but, although having but about one-haif the population of 
Bordeaux, it is next to it in importance, and in some parts rivals ‘he beauty of Paris 
itself. Among the most striking buildings are the Cathedral of St. Pierre, with its 
splendid monuments ; the old castle, which was built in 938 and has been the temporary 
residence of nearly all the kings and queens of France since Charles VIII. Nantes 
stands on a noble part of the Loire, where the channel is studded with islands ; many 
bridges span its various branches, and fair, green meadows skirt its shores. The quays 
are pleasant promenades, lined with houses and planted with trees, and the broad Cours 
which extend through the city are bordered with elegant houses, and ornamented with 
statues and several rows of trees. The import and export trade is large, and the indus¬ 
tries of the little city are almost as many as those of Birmingham in England. Besides 
the linens, cotton, calicoes and flannels spun here, there is a very different kind of occu¬ 
pation which employs many people in making musical and scientific instruments, and 
still others, in refining sugar and salt, making chemicals, distilling brandy, and in foun¬ 
dries, tanneries and ship-building. The great seaport at the mouth of the Seine is 
Le Havre, or the Harbor, which, next to Marseilles, is the most important commercial 
town in France, being also the port of Paris. The population of Le Havre is scarcely a 
hundred thousand, but nearly one-fourth of the foreign trade of France is centered here. 
It has lines of vessels running to nearly every large port in the world, and railroads to 
all parts of the Republic and to Germany. It has also large manufactories in many 
important articles of trade, and the great shipyards send out the finest vessels of France. 
From the heights on the northern side of Havre, where from the pretty suburbs of villas 
and gardens a fine view of the town and harbor is to be had, the streets are regularly laid 
out in squares, with the Rue de Paris, running north and south, the center of traffic. 
At the head of it stand the Public Gardens and the Hotel de Ville, built in the style of 
the Tuileries, and near the lower end, toward the outer port, is the famous old church 
of Notre Dame, which was built in the sixteenth century. Great basins of water, sur¬ 
rounded by broad quays and overlooked by commercial offices, stretch from the harbor 
into the center of the town. 

Scarcely half way from Havre to Paris, on the north bank of the Seine, stands 
the ancient capital of Normandy, Rouen the most picturesque city of France. The town 
is forever associated with the memory of Joan of Arc, the heroic Maid of Orleans, whom 
the English are said to have burned alive in 1431 in the city square, now called 
Place de la Pucelle. The history of Rouen has been very eventful since the days 
of the Northmen, who made it their capital in 842, and even after the sackings of the 
Huguenot wars and the Revolution, is now more rich in ancient architecture than any 
other city of France. The old ramparts have been made into broad, tree-lined boule¬ 
vards ; some of the new streets are lined with fine, modern stone houses ; but for the 


Ronen a7id Lille. 


105 


most part Rouen is a city of ill-built but picturesque streets and squares, with tall, 
narrow and quaintly-carved houses, timber-bound and gable-roofed. The unsymmetrical 
old Cathedral of Notre Dame is a grand piece of ancient Gothic architecture, with its 
lofty towers, ornamented chapels and carved statuary. There are fine rose windows in 
the cathedral, memorial figures and tablets, and in the museum of antiquities the heart 
of the Coeur de Lion is preserved, which was originally buried beneath the choir. 
Among the other interesting buildings of Rouen are the Tower of Joan of Arc, where in 



HAVRE. 

the ancient citadel built by Philip Augustus some time in 1200, the soldier-maid was 
imprisoned ; the Church of St. Patricia, with its gorgeous colored windows two hundred 
years old ; the Palais de Justice, a picturesque pile lining three sides of a square ; the 
Belfry is a tower of the fourteenth century, connected by an arched bridge across the 
street with the Hotel de Ville. These stand upon the Grande Rue, with its cluster of 
quaint, interesting houses, close together. The Hotel du Bourgtheroulde is of the 
fifteenth century, and represents the scene on the “ Field of the Cloth of Gold ” in 
reliefs, while its graceful six-sided tower is sculptured with scripture subjects. But the 













io6 Cities of the World. 

most interesting of all these medieval buildings is the Church of St. Ouen, which surpasses 
the cathedral in beauty and size. Although nearly a hundred years passed in the erec¬ 
tion of St. Ouen, the plans were not changed, and one of its greatest charms is that it 
all seems to belong together,—or its harmony^ as architects say. The tower is over two 
hundred and fifty feet high, surmounted by an eight-sided, open-work lantern and a 


PALACE OF JUSTICE, ROUEN. 

gallery from which there is a fine view. The portals are adorned with statues and 
reliefs ; above is a magnificent rose window, and still higher an arcade with eleven 
statues, crowned by a pediment bearing a figure of St. Ouen, Archbishop of Rouen. 
Rouen is growing to a large importance in trade now. In manufacturing it stands 
among the foremost cities, with large products in cotton, checked and striped goods and 
cotton yarn and velvets ; in nankeen, dimity, lace, shawls and hosiery, and also in wool 











Rouen and Lille. 


107 


fabrics, yarns, blankets and flannels, besides hats and cordage, steel, shot, lead, chem¬ 
icals and paper, and in building ships and machinery. There are about as many people 
in Rouen as in Albany, New York, a hundred and five thousand. The most important 
city in the extreme north of France is Lille, once called LTsle, or The Island. It is 
fortified and kept as one of the chief defenses of the north, and is named from the castle 
' which once stood in the midst of salt marshes, and around which the town grew. Lille 
has a modern appearance of wide streets and imposing squares and houses. The Bourse, 
richly ornamented in the Spanish style ; the five-sided old citadel with its splendid 
equipments in case of need, and the Church of St. Maurice, are all fine and interesting. 
The tall chimneys of numerous mills show the activity of the town, which is chiefly manu¬ 
facturing and twisting flax into the celebrated Lille or Lisle thread, extracting oil from rape 
and poppy seeds, and manufacturing sugar from beet-root. To these industries the neigh¬ 
boring country contributes in raising flax and other products and bringing them ready 
to use into town. Lille has about two hundred thousand inhabitants, making it the fifth 
city of the Republic. The Newcastle of France is St. Etienne. It is a short distance 
from Lyons, and surrounded by coal beds, and has been mined until the streets of the 
town stand upon galleries. Its mills for tempering iron and steel are supplied with 
water from the Furens, a branch of the Loire, upon which St. Etienne is situated, 
I always shrouded in smoke. Most of the town is badly built; but it can not even derive 
. any beauty from the immense new lime-stone buildings, which are, some of them, six and 
eight stories high, for they are soon tarnished and begrimed from the factories ; there 
are also great quantities of rich and beautiful ribbons, velvets and laces made here for 
all parts of the world, and firearms, bayonets and all kinds of steel and iron implements. 
In population it is about the size of Nantes. 


GERMANY. 


HE most important kingdom of the German Empire is Prussia, and Berlin, itscapi. 



1 tal, is the seat of the imperial government. The city stands nearly in the center 
of Northern Germany, on a level, sandy plain between the Elbe and the Oder rivers, with 
the smaller streams and lakes of the Havel to the west. The broad, sluggish Spree, flowing 
across it, enters Berlin on the south-east, and, after separating so as to form a long island 
in the center, unites again, and flows out through the north-western quarters. These 
rivers, and the canals they feed, form a system of water-ways in and about Berlin extend¬ 
ing to the Baltic and the North seas, which, with the still more important net-work of 
railroads centering at the capital, makes it a great headquarters for the art and industry 
of western Europe and the natural products of the eastern part of the continent, at 
the same time drawing to it the town manufactures of the Empire, besides petroleum, 
metals and many more of the rich country products. These are for Berlin’s own use 
and for shipment to other markets far and wide, so that the German capital now ranks 
among the most important markets of Europe. It also attracts greatness in art, works 
of science and literature, but even more than these, great men. So many celebrated 
scholars and teachers, and people famous for their powers of mind live here, that it is 
called the world’s Capital of Intelligence. Although more than six centuries old, nearly 
every part of Berlin seems to be as modern as New York. It is about the same size as 
our own metropolis, but with fewer people : the population of Berlin being about one 
million two hundred thousand. This makes it the third city of Europe and the sixth of 
the world. Like most German towns it shows very plainly that it has spread out to its 
present size from the small original settlement in the center. In Berlin the “ old town ” 
is marked by the lowest houses, some of the most extensive buildings, and greatest 
activity and life. Gradually the streets grow longer and the houses higher, till the far 
reaching suburbs stretch up to the hill-sides in regular blocks of six-story dwellings, and 
the tumult of business or social life is gradually lost in districts of great factories or in 
broad, tree-planted streets lined with aristocratic homes. Some of these are plain, others 
magnificent ; but no part dwindles away into tumble-down hovels, dirty sheds or rook¬ 
eries. Berlin is made up of many quarters, called stddte, differing widely, but all thrifty 
?.nd progressive, for this is a city of the present. The people are living for what they 















^ffPr ■ 



m ! 

' '\^rs^3e!tLjr / 



B*i 








IBm 


IN THE THlEkGARTEN, BERLIN. 













































I lO 


Cities of the Wo7'ld. 


can do now ; they preserve with care and honor what their fathers have done, but in a 
way to make their monuments and treasures give service, enjoyment or education to the 
living nation. 

Berliners are nearly all Germans ; the capitals of other countries are made up of 
people from everywhere, but in that of Prussia, ninety-nine out of every hundred were 
born in the land,—true Germans, full of life and push, hard working and loving pleasure. 
For this last there is plenty of provision in gardens, promenades, concert halls and theaters. 
Among the most attractive of all the city resorts is the great park called the Thiergarten. 
When Berlin was a smaller city than it is now this lay on the western outskirts ; but now 
it is close to the center and adjacent to the most fashionable part of town. The vast 
pleasure ground is about twice the size of Hyde Park in London, and nearly three times as 
long as it is wide. It is more than six hundred acres taken out of a natural forest and 
graded with smooth lawns, set with flower beds and beautiful statues. The 
grand old trees still stand in groves and, bordering fine promenades and winding 
paths, cast their deep shade or moving shadows on many pretty streams and lakes, 
especially in the western end, called the See Park, and around the Rousseau 
Island. This is never so gay as in winter, when the ground is covered 
with snow, and the glassy ice of the lake is crowded with merry skaters. In the 
upper part there is a royal chateau—Bellevue—near the winding Spree, which forms 
the northern boundary of the garden. Some distance east of the chateau, within 
a bold upward curve of the river, lies Konigs-Piatz, or King’s Square. This is one of 
the most beautiful places in the city, laid out with large flower beds and fountains. In 
the center stands a great monument in the form of a fluted column. From the terrace 
above the level of the Platz, a circular flight of granite steps leads to the massive, square 
pedestal, where beautiful bronze reliefs tell of many Prussian victories. Above it is an open 
colonnade, or large gallery of columns, running around the base, which is inlaid with 
Venetian mosaics. The column is of yellowish gray sandstone, divided into three tiers, 
with a row of cannon standing in the recesses of the fluting at the base of each. There 
are sixty guns in all, which were captured from Denmark, Austria and France. The 
whole monument is two hundred feet high, with the crowning statue of a colossal figure 
of Borussia, above the sculptured eagles of the capital. This is surrounded by a high 
railing, for many visitors go out upon it to enjoy the fine view of the Thiergarten and the 
city beyond. Above the extensive space of the King’s Square is another, also adorned 
with fountains, statuary and flower beds, and flanked by lofty buildings ; from 
here the broad Alsten street, planted with double rows of trees, leads to bridges that 
connect with the city beyond. Above the garden and further westward is Moabit, once a 
dangerous quarter, “ with the material for a riot always on hand ” ; but now you would 
think it contained every thing to prevent a disturbance, with its extensive barracks 
overlooking the great tree-bordered Exercier Platz, or parade ground, at either end; 


Germany. 111 

its vast prison houses, built out from one large center like a star ; its penitentiary and 
its criminal court buildings. There are some noted churches in this quarter, too; but 
for the most part it is made up of factories and mechanics’ homes. The great Borsig 
engine works, the most extensive factories in the city, are here. A hundred and 
sixty locomotives are made in these shops every year. Near by is the Villa Borsig, 
surrounded by beautiful grounds and containing palm houses, filled with fine 
tropical plants and trees, and hot-houses of rare, cultivated flowers. These attractions 
make this part at least of the despised suburb a very desirable place to visit. Looking down 
from the capital of the great monument, on the east side of the Platz, the new Reich- 
stags-Gebdude or parliament house, is seen, which is for the meetings of the body of men 
elected by the people to help the Emperor rule the country. On the other side is a long, 
showy-looking building, called Kroll’s Establishment, or the Casino and Winter Garden. 
This is one of the most brilliant and popular resorts in Berlin, containing concert-hall, 
theater and restaurants. The principal part of the establishment is the hall, which is 
almost four hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide, made to look like a vast 
garden. On every side the walls are covered with plants and flowers growing in pots or 
in vases and festoons. On the floor there are great plants, palm trees and flowery banks, 
green and blooming, and growing beneath the glass roof as luxuriously as in their riative 
land. Three bands relieve each other in making a continuous concert of good music, 
which attracts thousands of people. Hundreds of little tables are standing about, around 
which men and women gather in animated groups, chatting to each other over their 
refreshments, listening to the music, or watching the others who are promenading up 
and down. In the evening the place is brilliantly lighted with hundreds of gas jets. It 
is made warm and pleasant in winter, or delightfully cool in summer. Then the great 
pavilions are open and seem almost to be a part of the shady avenues, filled with merry 
promenaders, leading to the Zelten, or tents, along the river. The Zelten is a sort of 
outdoor Kroll’s, lighted through the trees, where gay groups of people enjoy their 
friends, listen to music, or quietly take an evening of recreation after the day’s work. 

The main entrance to the Thiergarten is through Brandenburg Gate, which stands on 
the eastern boundary not far from the King’s Square, and at the head of the Charlotten- 
burg Road. This broad avenue runs the full length of the park past the imposing new 
Technical School and the famous old Royal Porcelain factory at the further end, and on 
through the scattered western outskirts to the town of Charlottenburg. This is likely to 
soon follow many other places in becoming incorporated with the city. Its chief inter¬ 
est now is connected with the old Royal Palace. A stately avenue of pines from the 
garden leads to the famous Mausoleum built by Frederick William III. as a tomb for his 
beautiful young queen Louise, who died in 1810. After a long and busy life the old 
king was laid by her side; and above them rest the marble statues whose beauty and 
skillful workmanship would have made the sculptor, Christian Rauch, famous if he had 


I I 2 


Cities of the World. 


never done any thing else. At the upper end of the town there are several acres inclosed 
in the Winter Garden of the Flora Society, which is another famous and delightful Berlin 
resort for all seasons of the year, where excellent music is heard in the midst of luxurious 
southern trees and rare tropical plants. A canal forms the lower boundary to the See 
Park, and in one place separates it from the Zoological Gardens. This is also an exten¬ 
sive and beautiful park, where people often gather by thousands to hear fine open air con¬ 
certs. 

The Berlin collection of animals kept here is one of the finest in the world, while their 
attractive houses and sheds add very much to the looks of the garden. The Antelope 
House is built in the Arabian style, and the gay colored Elephant House is in the form of 
an Indian pagoda, or temple. This quarter, called the Outer Friedrichstadt, is the most 
elegant in the city. Between the Thiergarten and the canal—which crosses the upper 
portion on its way to the south-east manufacturing district and a distant point of the 
Spree—are the magnificent villas and charming grounds of the wealthy people of the 
capital. Below the canal the broad tree-planted streets are lined with blocks of majestic 
mansions, the large squares are set with fountains and statues and crossed by avenues 
running in every direction. There are few public buildings here but some fine schools 
and colleges. These are to be seen everywhere in German cities ; they are for all ages 
from the “ play school ” of the Kindergarten to the philosophical lecture halls of the 
great scholars ; for Prussia has long been proud of the minds of her people and has pro¬ 
vided handsomely for their education and training. Before the last conquest and the form¬ 
ation of the new empire, it was disparagingly said that Berlin was a bare, flat place, made up 
of schools and barracks. Perhaps it was in a large measure ; but the schools turned out men 
who have taken first rank among the scholars of the world ; and the soldiery has beaten 
back the foes and made this city of “ magnificent distances” the capital of one of the leading 
nations of the world. The Thiergarten and the Outer Friedrichstadt are separated from 
the more central part of Berlin, called the Inner Town, by the Koniggratzer strasse, which 
is a long handsome boulevard running in rather a south-easterly direction to a large square 
in the lower part of the city, known as the Belle Alliance Platz. This is a large circular place 
where the principal streets of the Friedrichstadt—a quarter directly east of the Outer 
Friedrichstadt—come together. The Platz is very pretty, with its blooming gardens, 
and in the center stands the great Column of Peace, which was raised on the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of the victoriously won peace of 1815. The Column is of granite standing on 
a lofty pedestal and with a marble capital or top, as you would say, upon which is a beautiful 
figure of Victory, by Herr Rauch who made the statues in the Charlottenburg mausoleum. 
She holds a twig of palm as the emblem of peace, in one hand, and extends the wreath of 
victory toward the city with the other. Four marble groups are at the base of the monu¬ 
ment, representing Prussia, England, the Netherlands and Hanover, the four great powers 
that took part in the war of 1815. The continuation of Koniggratzer strasse, which skirts 


Germany. 11 n 

the canal on the south side of the Platz, is reached by a flight of steps, adorned by figures 
in white marble. At the top of the staircase is the sculptured arch of the Halle Gate, 
from which the canal is crossed by a beautiful, broad, granite bridge with large marble 
groups of statuary upon its buttresses. This leads to the Schoneberg Quarter, and the 
large Botanical Gardens, below the Outer Friedrichstadt. The western part of the city 
seems to be unusually rich in lovely parks ; the Botanical Gardens are not only very 
extensive and beautiful, but have many thousand species of classified plants. In the Palm 
House there are graceful southern palms, various kinds of the cactus and other rare 
importations that are wonderful and interesting. Adjoining the Victoria Regia House is 
the new Botanical Museum and Herbarium, with some of the best collections in the 
world. TheTempelhof Quarter toward the south is growing with many new buildings^ 
handsome squares and broad streets. There is a fine view of this new part of Berlin 
from the Kreuzberg or Hill of the Cross, near by, which is a sand hill about a hundred 
feet above the city. There is a Gothic obelisk on the summit adorned with statues by 
famous sculptors, which Frederick William III. erected and dedicated to his people. 

Some distance to the south-west is the village of Potsdam, on the Ringbahn, a railway 
which encircles the city and suburbs of Berlin. Here, on the lakes of the Havel river, 
surrounded by fair wooded hills, Frederick the Great built his palace home, which he 
called Sans Souci, or “ Without Care.” The beautiful chateau with its lovely grounds and 
adornments, beside many other palaces and magnificent villas which were put up in this 
vicinity after the example set by the king, make Potsdam one of the most charming and 
interesting places belonging to the German capital. The Potsdam railway has a hand¬ 
some station in the Friedrichstadt near the Koniggratzer strasse. The streets which 
radiate northward from the Belle Alliance Platz are broad, even and very handsome ; 
they are crossed by others which are also large and straight, making the Friedrichstadt 
the most regularly built quarter of Berlin. Years ago this part of town was dull and 
tiresome, but now its blocks are filled with fine stores, places of amusement and important 
offices ; the largest retail trade in the city is done here. The center street, run¬ 
ning from the Peace Column, is the Friedrich strasse, which extends in a straight 
line across the center of the Freidrichstadt into the new northern suburb of the 
Freidrich-Wilhelm-stadt, lying above. This is one of the largest streets in the inner town 
with public and private buildings, bright stores, restaurants, cafes and places 
of amusement ; it is full of life and activity, especially near the center, where 
the lofty facades of splendid buildings are unbroken for many blocks. At the cor¬ 
ner of one of the handsome cross streets are the Germania Insurance Company’s offices^ 
the high imposing front richly decorated and set with polished granite columns. .The 
beautiful place opposite is occupied by A. W. Faber, the famous pencil maker. 
The Leipziger strasse is the most important street in this quarter. From the old 
house of Prussian Deputies near the Spittel Market at one end, to the Potsdam Gate 


114 


Cities of the World. 

at the other, it is filled with a constant throng of people, intent upon business during 
the day and pleasure in the evening. Among its showy stores, handsome offices, concert 
halls and restaurants are dignified old houses that have looked down upon all the chang¬ 
ing scenes of this “verdant, flowery crescent,” as somebody calls the street, for the last 
hundred years. One of the most interesting buildings to visit is the Government Post 
Office. Its business part is entirely for the use of the postal authorities of the empire ; 
but any one is allowed to visit the Post Office Museum in another part of the building. 
This stands near the corner of the Wilhelm strasse, the third great street running from 
the Belle Alliance Platz. From its stately rows of official mansions, occupying the 
deep lots extending to the Thiergarten, the Wilhelm strasse is often called the Privy 
Councilors’ Quarter. Just within the Koniggratzer strasse, it runs in the same direc¬ 
tion but much further north. It crosses the Spree by the Marschalls Bridge, round 
which are clustered the schools and colleges belonging to the medical department of the 
Berlin University, and on past this “ Latin Quarter” of the German capital into the 
Freidrich-Wilhelm-stadt. 

At the head of Leipziger strasse is a large eight-sided platz laid out like a park, 
adorned with bronze statues and overlooked by residences and offices of the govern¬ 
ment ; adjoining it is the square of the Potsdam Gate, while into it come broad, 
tree-lined avenues on many sides. Toward the Wilhelm strasse is the Herrenhmis, or 
Upper Chamber of the Prussian parliament ; adjoining the extensive buildings of the 
Reichstags-Gebdude or Hall of the Imperial Diet. These inclose several courts and are 
very long, extending the depth of several blocks between the handsome gardens of the 
adjoining houses. These buildings were hastily put up in 1871, and will not be used 
by the Reichstags after the new ones in King’s Square are finished ; they are not hand¬ 
some enough to be very interesting except as the place where that important power 
in the German empire, the Reichstags, holds its meetings. 

Below the vast block occupied by the houses of the government, upon anew street leading 
to the Koniggratzer strasse is the German Industrial Museum, built in massive stories of 
hewn stone, ornamented with mosaics and reliefs in terracotta, and adorned with statuary 
upon the staircase leading to the doorway. The apartments are in groups, around a large 
court in the center, which is encircled by slender pillars of a rock very much like granite, 
called syenite ; above this colonnade are two rows of arcades, the upper one crowned by 
a beautiful sculptured frieze, colored like majolica. The collections of this Museum are 
very interesting articles of all ages and from many countries. Here are ancient chairs and 
other pieces of furniture, ivory carvings, perforated leather ; Chinese and Japanese lacquer 
work, mosaics and things made of plaited straw, of wood, paper, hammered iron ; vases and 
plates of rare majolica ; earthenware, pottery and porcelain, gold and silver ware, precious 
stones, woven goods, embroideries and many other curious and beautiful things that 
belong to an exhibition of the world’s progress in industrial art. There is a large school 


rilE bCHLOSS 




























































































Cities of the World. 


116 

connected with the Museum and a fine library. There is another important Museum ii> 
the corner of the Koniggratzer strasse, and near by is the Ascanischer Platz, and the 
finest railway station in Berlin. It is very large and beautifully decorated. The starting 
pavilion of this Anhalt Station is the largest on the Continent. There are other grand 
or interesting places all about here, and not far above the line of palaces on the east side 
of the Wilhelm strasse is broken by the open space of the Wilhelms Platz, adorned 
with flower-beds and bronze statues of six heroes of the Three Silesian Wars of 
Frederick the Great. The square is overlooked and surrounded by grand public and 
private buildings of Prussian government officers and foreign embassies, which also ex¬ 
tend, with their variously decorated facades and handsome gardens to the great avenue 
and true center of the city, Unter den Linden. This most famous street in Prussia is 
scarcely a mile long, running from the King’s Palace in the center of the island made by 
the Spree, to the principal entrance to the Thiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate. From 
one end to the other it is just two hundred feet wide and planted with four rows of lime 
trees—interspersed with chestnuts—from which it is called Unter den Linden, or under 
the limes. Brandenburg Thor was the most important of Berlin’s nineteen gates, when 
the city was surrounded by walls. It is about a century old, and associated with many 
great events in Prussian history. On the top stands a great car of victory, drawn by 
four horses abreast, which the French carried to Paris in 1807 ; but, the successes seven 
years later restored. This quadriga is made of copper, but the Gate itself is 
of sandstone and built to imitate the famous Propyloea, which in ancient days 
stood upon the Athenian Acropolis. The center passage is reserved for the royal car¬ 
riage ; by rows of massive Doric columns, nearly fifty feet high, it is separated from a gate¬ 
way on either side. The entire Gate is a little less than a hundred feet high, and more 
than two hundred feet broad. Two wings like Grecian temples adjoin the Gate on each 
side ; one is for telegraph and pneumatic tube offices ; and the other for the use of the 
soldiery or guards stationed here. Outside there are handsome open colonnades for 
foot passengers. 

Within is the Pariser Platz, a square broader than the Linden and overlooked by 
handsome lofty buildings. The new French Embassy is on the north side, and opposite 
is the Officers’ Casino and two g’-and palaces, one of which was Prince Bliicher’s. 
Although this is now a private residence, to the German people it is forever associated 
with “Marshal Forwards,’’ whose great generalship and swift marches won the victory 
over France in 1814, from which the Square of Paris is named. Here begin the two 
lines of noble buildings which extend the length of the Linden, unbroken. Handsome 
palaces, spacious hotels and attractive shops, theaters, restaurants and cafes on both 
sides of the way, make this the gayest, the busiest and the most interesting part of the 
great city. It is a never ending picture of the daily life of Berliners, with carriages of 
every description rolling along tlie drive, officers on horseback and equestrians out for 


Germany. 


117 

pleasure, idling or cantering through the bridle paths, while the sidewalks are thronged 
with promenaders of every class. There are a great many fine galleries in the city ; one 
of which is in Count Redern’s palace, the Florentine building adjoining the Pariser 
Platz. It is open every day, and any one is admitted who has made “previous applica¬ 
tion.” On the corner of Wilhelm strasse is the great Hotel Royal, where the nobility and 
diplomats of the empire stay while they are in Berlin. On the other side is the Aquarium, 
a fairy-land of grottoes, little lakes, and beautiful plants, and containing fresh and 
salt water fish, amphibious animals, apes, birds, and many other things that boys and 
girls love to see. All along here are rich and imposing buildings of the government 
departments, interspersed with brilliant stores, and gay cafes, which have no equal in any 
part of the city, and the Kaisergallerie, or passage running to the next street 
below, is said to be the handsomest and busiest arcade in Europe. The lower entrance 
is on a corner of the Friedrich strasse, which crosses the Linden in about the center of 
the long lines of trees, and is another great artery pouring life and activity into the 
beautiful street. On one of the corners is the Cafe Bauer, which any Berliner will tell 
you is the handsomest, the best and most visited of any in town. Its walls are painted 
by great artists, its beautiful fittings are in excellent taste, and its lofty mirrors reflect a 
constant throng of brilliant, fashionable people. Beyond the Linden, the Friedrich 
strasse enters the quarter called the Dorotheen stadt, which contains most of the great 
hotels, the fashionable restaurants, clubs, large banking houses, important schools, lodges, 
and churches. In the upper part near the bank of the river is the Central Hotel, the 
most famous in the city, the Fifth Avenue or Astor House of Berlin. It is an immense 
ostablishment containing more than four hundred rooms, celebrated for good entertain¬ 
ment and a most attractive winter garden. Beyond the Friedrich strasse the Linden is 
crossed by Charlotten street. Here the buying and selling life of the Linden ends and 
a vast group of massive and splendid buildings of a different kind begins. Instead of 
stores it is a grand vision of architecture, sculpture, color, and design, to which is 
added at midday the greater charm of military music from the Band of the Royal 
Ouards. On the left rises the vast Academy, with a great clock above the gate, which 
always tells the correct time. This massive building, devoted to the advancement of arts 
and sciences in Germany, is the seat of one of the famous academies of the world, that 
of Paris alone being more important and celebrated. 

Behind the Academy and extending toward the river there are a great many schools 
and institutes, to which students and teachers come from all parts of Germany ; but 
the center of student life in Berlin is the University. The main building stands just 
beyond the Academy, overlooking the Opera House Square, which is a continuation of 
the Linden. Next to her armies the pride of Germany is her great universities. There 
are twenty-one of them in all, large and noble institutions that are known all over the 
world. The University of Berlin is next to the youngest and also next to the largest. It 


ii8 


Cities of the World. 


has two hundred professors and twelve times as many students coming from every part of 
the globe. Behind the buildings is a “ campus,” or “ green,” called the Chestnut Grove, a 
large park, overlooked on all sides by fine buildings, most of which are in some way con¬ 
nected with the Academy or University ; a smaller square adjoining, but fronting on 
the Linden, is included in the name of the Grove, but belongs to the House of the Royal 
Guard. This was built by the great architect Schinkel in i8i8, after what is called the 
Doric style, in the form of a fortified gate, guarded by three large cannon taken in war. 
Between the Guard House and the river rise the beautiful sculptured walls of the 
Arsenal. It was built during about twenty years in the last part of the seventeenth and 
the earlier years of the eighteenth centuries, under Frederick I. Each of the sides of the 
great square structure are nearly three hundred feet long, and inclose a large open court 
or quadrangle in the center. Over the principal portal is a bust of King Frederick. 
Opposite the vestibule groups of cannon adorned with flags, both captured from the- 
French in the war-time of ’71, guard the entrance to the glass roofed court, from the back 
of which two flights of stairs go up to the Hall of Fame. This has three sections or 
rooms, adorned with historical frescoes, statues of Prussia’s monarchs and busts of its 
great men in military life. In another part of the Arsenal there is a fine display of Prussian 
firearms, besides a large and almost complete collection of all the varieties of firearms ever 
used. Many of the foreign pieces are spoils of war. In the room to the west of the entrance 
are implements used in engineering, models of old French fortresses, brought from 
Paris in 1814, and the keys of several real ones that the Prussians captured ; among other 
interesting war things are some historical pictures ; the flags draping the pillars also- 
came from Paris in 1814., On the upper floor is a large collection of ancient, medieval 
and modern weapons. The buildings on the lower side of this platz are even more 
extensive and magnificent than those above, while between them stands the chief monu* 
ment of the city, Rauch’s bronze statue of Frederick the Great on horseback. It occu¬ 
pies a space in the center of the broad platz between the Academy and the Palace of 
Emperor William. So, the center of Berlin life and the most beautiful street in Germany 
begins at a triumphal arch crowned with a car of victory, and ends at the feet of the great 
victor who raised Prussia from a petty kingdom to one of the five principal powers of 
Europe. 

The people love this statue of “Old Fritz,” raised by their later sovereigns,Frederick 
William HI., and his son Frederick William IV. ; and they have reason to be proud of its 
workmanship in the massive grandeur of the rider and his horse, and the finish of the 
smaller parts of the work. The groups of life-like sculptures surrounding the pedestal 
tell the story of the king’s life, his boyhood, education, the great achievements of his 
manhood, and represent his chief officers and other illustrious men of the time. 

The Palace of Emperor William, opposite the Academy, extends through the block ; it 
is lofty and handsome outside, and within contains a suite of apartments sumptuously 



THE EMPEK( >KP A !■ ACE, PEKLIN. 















































































































































































































I 20 


Cities of the World. 


fitted up for the emperor, an immense reception room over two hundred feet long, and 
a summer and winter garden. The emperor’s apartments are on the ground floor 
facing the east. Adjoining is the Royal Library, which was built over a hundred years 
ago, in imitation of the Royal Winter Riding School at Vienna. Sarcastically it is 
likened to a great chest of drawers, but it is really a very fine looking building with 
elaborate ornaments after what is called the Rococo style. On the ground floor is the 
reading-room and the collection of maps ; and above are some rare manuscripts of 
Luther and Melanchthon, Gutenberg’s Bible on parchment, over thirty volumes of por¬ 
traits and autographs of celebrated people, Chinese books, a small eight-sided Koran, and 
many other ancient, valuable books and papers, which, with the other contents of the 
Library, make nine hundred thousand volumes and fifteen thousand manuscripts. The 
king’s residence and the Royal Library face the Opera House with the long and statue- 
adorned Opera Platz, extending the full depth of the block between. The Opera House 
with its colonnaded portico, is a fine large structure built about fifty years ago, but copied 
after and taking the place of the seventeenth-century building which was burned. The 
interior is large and handsomely decorated with oil paintings framed in gold on the 
ceilings, and seats for eighteen hundred people. The partitions between the boxes are 
only a foot high, so that the beautiful dresses and jewels worn by the ladies are very 
elegant under the brilliant light of the massive bronze chandelier, and the many smaller 
lights in the vast auditorium. This is the first theater in Berlin, where good operas and 
the most celebrated dramas are given, besides the fine symphony concerts regularly held 
once in two weeks during the winter in the Concert Room. At the back of the Opera 
House is the Roman Catholic Church of St. Hedvvig, built about a hundred and fifty 
years ago and copied from the Pantheon at Rome. A short distance to the south-west¬ 
ward is the extensive Gensdarmen Markt, or Military Square, which is said to 
have the most effective group of buildings in Berlin. The large square is surrounded 
by broad streets, all of them handsomer than Broadway in New York, and faced by 
several grand old private mansions of the last century. The Market takes up three 
large squares in about the center of the eastern part of the Friedrichstadt ; it is situated 
two blocks below the Linden and two above the Leipziger strasse. The center 
is called the Schiller Platz, from a marble statue of the poet Schiller on a magnificent 
pedestal in front of the principal fapade of the Schauspielhaus, or Royal Theater. 
This is a large, handsome building in the Grecian style, and several stories high, 
with a grand entrance below the fine Ionic portico, with its magnificent, broad 
flight of steps opposite the statue. On the sides of the staircase there are 
bronze groups of genii riding on a panther and a lion. Above the portico the Children 
of Niobe are sculptured in sandstone, while still higher, the principal part of the build¬ 
ing is crowned with a bronze group of Apollo in a chariot drawn by two griffins, above a 
pediment with two large figures of muses. On the other side a Pegasus in copper looks 


Germany. 


I2I 


toward the west from the roof of the theater, while on both the northern and the south¬ 
ern sides there are pediments with scenes in relief which are considered the finest work 
ever done by the great artist Frederick Tieck. The Schauspielhaus itself was designed 
by Schinkel, who has many famous works in the German capital. His best interior is 
the Concert Hall of this theater, which is a beautiful shape, adorned with paintings and 
sculptures. It holds twelve hundred people, and is entirely separate from the theater 
auditorium, in which fifteen hundred people may gather comfortably. ♦ 

In the lower portion of the Market stands the odd-shaped, five-sided New Church, or 
German Cathedral, with handsome high-domed towers separate from the main building. 
Above the theater is the old French Church, built in the early part of the last century. 
Eastward from the Market lie the narrow and irregular streets of the upper part of the 
quarter of New Kblln on the Water ; here are fine modern business houses and great throngs 
of lively people, although it is one of the very oldest parts of the city. One of the first 
things you would notice here is the noble looking and extensive Imperial German Bank, 
it is so gay with its mixture of sandstone and brick, handsomely adorned with sculptures. 
The inside, too, is very richly and tastefully decorated. Above the Bank stands the 
lofty Venetian fa9ade of the Central Telegraph office, the headquarters of a splendid 
system of quick communication, which is a necessity to the active Berliners. It is not 
alone in the newness and the bustle of Berlin that it is like the great cities of the 
United States, but in the force and energy of the people to whom “ time is money,” and 
in all matters of business as little to be wasted ; so the telegraph wires, which, besides 
connecting with far-away places, are very much used to send messages from one part of 
the city to another. Without a moment’s delay, for about seven cents, the clerks will 
send twenty words to any of the twenty stations of Berlin; and from there it will be 
delivered to whatever address is given, in a surprisingly short time. Near the Telegraph 
Office and the Bank is the Old Mint, which is newer than many finer buildings of the 
city. This has been dismantled of its chief beauty, the sandstone frieze representing the 
process of obtaining and treating the metals for the fine New Mint, which occupies a large 
square, opposite the Werder Church. 

On the east the Mint overlooks the water, and on the north it faces the large, square 
building of the Bau Academy or Academy of Architecture, which accommodates seven 
hundred students, and contains a museum of several interesting collections. On the 
ground floor is the Beuth-Schinkel Museum, with a large collection of drawings and 
designs of buildings and plans which were made by Schinkel for the finest of his 
works. There are also exhibits of models of architecture, and some engravings be¬ 
queathed by Beuth, who did a great deal to help Prussia in industrial pursuits. The 
museum building itself was designed by Schinkel, and, an architect would tell you, is a 
masterly work, in the style of the middle ages, finished with an ornamentation of brick 
and terra-cotta copied from Greek patterns. The staircase is the handsomest part of 


122 


Cities of the World. 


the interior, the remainder being devoted to school and exhibition rooms. The long, 
triangular-shaped platz along the river bank above the Academy is named after the great 
architect, and has a fine bronze statue of him in the center, between those of Beuth and 
Thaer. It is a gay nook of the capital here, among the picturesque buildings of the 
VVerder market, and through the arched street leading to the Linden, between the 
Palace of the Crown Princess on the left and the grand Palace of the Crown Prince 
on the right, whose sculptured facade, set with long tiers of shining windows, stands 
opposite the Arsenal. From the platz adjoining the Linden the Spree is crossed by the 
beautiful Schloss-Briicke or Palace Bridge, leading to the great open space in front of the 
Schloss or Royal Palace, beyond which the eastern arm of the river is crossed by a 
smaller bridge leading to the “ old town ” of Berlin, so that there is one unbroken 
thoroughfare all the way across the center of the city. The Schloss-Briicke is 
large and very broad, with handsome parapets and immense groups of marble sculptures, 
representing the life of a warrior from the days of boyhood, when he is learning about 
the heroes of history, to the glorious end of his life on earth. Above the Palace extends 
the old Lustgarten, once the Palace Pleasure Garden ; now an immense tree-planted 
public park with plain, regular walks and a great statue of Frederick William III. in the 
center. Toward the east stands the old Cathedral, which has some monuments and 
tombs of the early electors, and the buiial vaults of the royal family beneath, but other¬ 
wise is about the least interesting thing on the island. An avenue through the center 
of the Lustgarten leads directly to the beautiful Greek building of the Old Museum, in 
front of which is a huge basin hewn out of a solid block of granite weighing seven 
hundred and fifty tons. The long building overlooks the Lustgarten from the colonnaded 
portico, extending all the way across the building, and reached by abroad flight of steps 
on which are placed great pieces of statuary in bronze, representing an Amazon on horse¬ 
back defending herself against a tiger, and a battle between lions. Both of these 
are widely known as the Amazon, by Kiss, and the Lion Slayer,,by Albert Wolff. 
The central part of the building rises above the rest, and bears at the four cor¬ 
ners other colossal groups in bronze. Handsome bronze doors open from the por¬ 
tico into the spacious vestibule, which contains a marble statue of Schinkel, the 
designer of the Museum, said to be the finest Greek building in the city ; and the large 
and beautiful frescoes which adorn the lofty walls ; a still finer statue of Rauch is 
here, and of several other worthies. The frescoes are upon a great many different sub¬ 
jects and are very beautiful and instructive. From each side at the end of the vestibule 
a double staircase leads to the upper vestibule, where there are more Schinkel frescoes 
and a fine view of the Lustgarten, the Schloss and its. surroundings from the open 
spaces between the great columns. A doorway opposite leads to the gallery 
which runs around the glass-covered rotunda; the gallery is supported by 
columns, between which are eighteen ancient statues on the ground floor. To the right 



A STREET CORNER OF HEREIN 


























































































124 


Cities of the World. 


and the left is a large square court. The upper walls of the rotunda are hung with the 
celebrated tapestries woven at Brussels for Henry VIII. of England from designs by 
Raphael. Passing from one part of the Museum to another one feels that the rooms 
are very pleasantly arranged, and on a simple plan. The contents of the 
Museum are carefully divided or classified and arranged according to the age of 
the different pieces. Below the first floor is a basement or ground floor containing the 
library used by those who are in charge of the Museum, and the Cabinet of Coins. 
There are many thousand ancient pieces of money, almost half of which are rare speci¬ 
mens of the Greek and Roman ; the other large cases are filled with Oriental coins ; those 
in use during the Middle Ages, and a fine collection of German coins and medals. 
The second floor is a vast picture gallery; a series of cabinets running around 
the entire building contains the German national collection of ancient paintings, these, 
too, arranged in classes according to the age of the pictures. All the important schools 
of European paintings are represented, in which among a host of others are the famous 
names of the Van Eyck brothers of the old Netherlandish school, Giotto of the early 
Italian painters, and Raphael of the golden time in Italian art, a few portraits by Titian 
of the Venetian school, and Albrecht Diirer of the early German painters, a small 
choice collection from the Flemish master, Paul Rubens, and the school he founded, 
and a number of good works by Rembrandt of the Dutch school. The fame of the 
Berlin Gallery rests more upon the completeness of its collection in representing the 
nistory of painting than on any great single pieces ; but wherever its collectors are 
able to secure masterpieces of any school, they do so, and in this way it is an exhi¬ 
bition of the growth of the beautiful art, containing some wonderful works 
of the highest class. Adjoining the northern side of the Old Museum is a 
staircase and passage leading to the plain, stately building, the New Museum, 
which, looking like a high Grecian Temple, stands at right angles to the older 
edifice. 

The arrangements and decorations of the interior of the New Museum are the 
handsomest of any in Berlin. The magnificent paintings on the staircase walls 
and other adornments of the building almost put the collections in the 
shade. The general plan of the rooms, halls and courts is much like that of the 
other museum, the great staircase taking the place of the rotunda with the 
courts on either side. The easterly corners of the building contain a rotunda 
at one end and cupola at the other, from which last is the passage to the Old Museum. 
These collections, like the others, are in representation of the history of art. On the 
ground floor are tiles, pieces of sculpture, tombs, monuments, mummies, gems, jewelry 
and other rare and valuable antiquities of Egypt, sculptures and other remains of the lost 
Assyrian nation, and sculptures of the first years of the Christian Era. The first floor is 
all taken up with a large collection of casts, and on the top floor is one of the largest 


Germany. 


125 


and finest collections of engravings in Europe, a large cabinet of rare and artistic 
manuscripts, and the rooms of the Antiquarium. This, to the visitor who is not an 
artist, is perhaps the most interesting part of the New Museum. It is made up of 
beautiful and very old bronze toilet-caskets, metal mirrors, weapons, household 
articles, showing what the Greeks and Romans used to keep house with ; and some 
of the terra-cotta reliefs with which they ornamented their buildings, at the same time 
recording their history. Besides these there are here a great many handsome vases and 
cameos, intaglios, other gems and precious metals. A glass cabinet in the center holds 
the famous silver treasure of Roman plate which was made in the time of Augustus. 
(You remember this was the reign in which Christ was born.) The Berlin collection of 
modern paintings, which numbers about five hundred, is in the elegant new building, 
which stands to the east of the New Museum. The National Gallery of paintings and 
sculptures, cartoons and drawings is in the form of a very long and broad Corinthian tem¬ 
ple. It stands in a square, beautifully laid out with flower beds, fountain and statues, and 
inclosed by a Doric colonnade. Above the Gallery and the New Museum, the island 
comes to a point, and the river—reunited—flows to the westward. On the opposite 
bank, upon the turn of the eastern branch, the extensive old garden of the royal 
chateau of Monbijou lies along the shore. The long, irregular building of 
the chateau is made up of a villa, built for a German countess almost two hun¬ 
dred years ago, and the additions, which were made before this century, after the 
place became Schloss Monbijou and the residence of the queen of Frederick William I. 
It is now mainly used for what is called the Hohenzollern Museum, which is a collection 
of articles that have belonged to the rulers of Prussia from the time of the Great Elector 
to the present day. They are arranged in groups; the portraits of a certain monarch’s 
family with articles they used, clothes they wore, beautiful things they owned and some¬ 
times the work of their hands, are all placed together with portraits and statues of the 
noted people of that time. In the room of Frederick William II. are portraits of the 
king’s generals, the orders of Napoleon, captured at Waterloo, and also the orders worn 
by General Bliicher. The most interesting rooms of all contain reminiscences of 
Frederick the Great, in which are the clothes he wore from the time he was a child till 
the time of his death, and many other belongings of the great hero. Above Monbijou 
the streets extend irregularly in many directions ; out they are broad, and often lead 
into handsome open squares. From one, near by, is the Sophien Kirche, with its elegant 
rococo spire, rising opposite the large Gothic hospital of St. Hedwig ; adjoining is the 
interesting old Jewish cemetery, while further to the north-west is the fine new Synagogue, 
with its gilded dome and Oriental appearance, in the combination of granite and sand¬ 
stone trimmings upon the structure of brick. This is a very handsome, attractive 
building. There are three doors of bronze, separated by columns of green granite, 
within which the vestibule leads to the Small Synagogue, for the minor ceremonies of 


Cities of the World. 


126 

the Jewish religion, while the apartment of the Principal Synagogue is beyond. This 
magnificent long room and its curious vaulted ceiling with iron lie-beams and cramps, 
supported by slender iron columns, is most gorgeously decorated, especially in the apse, 
which is very beautiful at dusk, when the softened evening light falls through the cupolas 
and the stained glass windows. In the vicinity of the Synagogue there are several other 
Jewish buildings, altogether the finest collection of religious edifices in Berlin. Here, 
too, the largest part of the Hebrew people of the capital live, forming quite an extensive 
Jewish quarter. They are important citizens, wealthy, intelligent and holding a high 
position in society. Their children are carefully educated, and they themselves attract 
to their homes, their small companies and receptions, some of the finest and most 
agreeable among all the people of the capital. 

When Berlin was first known in history it was a small city of two parts; 
the most easterly was separated by the right arm of the Spree from a 
smaller town called Kolln, which lay on the lower part of the island. In 
1451 the Elector Frederick II. built a castle on the river bank, above Kolln 
and facing Berlin, to which, nearly a hundred years later, Joachim II. added a 
wing. He placed it at right-angles with the original building, little thinking 
that the other monarchs who came after him would, in turn, add to this wing 
till it should extend all the way across the island and form the main part of the 
royal palace of a great empire. With many additions and alterations, it now incloses 
two large square courts, while the old palace of Frederick is but one small suite of apart¬ 
ments at one side. Altogether the Schloss is an imposing and massive pile, which the 
German rulers have never quite finished altering and embellishing ; so it has the appear¬ 
ance of being neither old nor new. The ornamentation on the northern facade is light and 
elegant ; the portal on the west is in imitation of the great triumphal arch of Septimius 
Severus of ancient Rome,’ and the high walls that look toward ancient Kolln are like 
some grim and severe monument, with scarcely any attempt at ornamentation. 

The handsomest of the inclosed courts is the inner court ; it is surrounded by arcades 
on three sides, separated from the outer courts by a block of sixteenth century buildings, 
which have been ornamented by modern architects. There are about six hundred apart¬ 
ments in the building. In the time of Frederick the Great, who lived during the larger 
part of the seventeenth century, almost all the royal family made their homes in the Schloss ; 
it then held all the royal collections, and was the seat of several government officials. 
But in later days the growth of the nation, and of the desires of the monarchs, have 
caused other buildings to be raised for the residence of the emperor and the officers and 
the meetings of the State. The second story, overlooking the Werder Bridge, Prince 
Frederick Charles occupies, and on the ground floor on the south Prince Leopold lives ; 


* See chapter on Rome of “ Great Cities of the Ancient World. 



4 



CAFE SCENE, BERLIN 




























































































































































128 


Cities of the World. 


but the other parts of the palace are now unused except as reception rooms for royal 
guests and for the dwellings of a few officials. One after another stately corridors stretch 
on to ante-chambers leading to grand halls lined with portraits of the Prussian royalty 
and gorgeous rooms furnished as when they were in use. Here are the apartments where 
kings and queens have lived and died. Frederick the Great was born in this palace; and 
in one of the rooms is the handsomely decorated Bridal Chamber, still used for royal mar¬ 
riages. The most richly ornamented of all these gorgeous rococo reception halls is the Ritter 
Saal or Old Throne Room. Above the side doors are groups representing the four quarters 
of the globe ; another large and beautiful carving is over the central door, where there 
is also a gallery which used to be of solid silver, to correspond with the massive thrones ; 
above the thrones is a great shield of the same metal, which the town of Berlin pre¬ 
sented to Frederick William IV. The massive silver column in front of the window is 
another gift. It was made to the present emperor in 1867 by the army and navy officers, 
on the sixtieth anniversary of his admission to the military service. The palace chapel 
is a high, eight-sided building, seventy-five feet across one way and a trifle longer the 
other. This odd shaped little sanctuary is like Aladdin’s cave, with its frescoes on gilded 
walls, its linings and pavements of marbles in different colors, the four yellow Egyptian 
marble columns of the altar, and the pure white pulpit and candelabra of Carrara 
marble. 

The Schloss Platz, or the Square, belovir the Palace, is a large open space, extending 
across the island from the Werder Bridge to the old Bridge of the Electors, over the 
eastern stream, and connecting Alt Kdlln, as the Berliners say, or Old Kblln, with Alt 
Berlin. The lower part of the island broadens somewhat till it is almost square ; it is 
crossed in both directions by many streets. In about the center is the Church of St. 
Peter, which is built in the Gothic style and has a slender, graceful spire that is the 
highest in Berlin. Almost adjoining on the east is the old Kolln Fish Market, where the 
Kblln Rathhaus, or Town Hall stands, with its unfinished tower and museum of ancient 
articles in flint, bronze and iron from the lake dwellings and early settlements ; there are 
also cabinets of weapons, armor, ancient instruments of torture, old articles of church 
use and furniture, coins and medals, and antique pieces of porcelain, glass, ornaments, 
clothing and other things. Just below the Royal Mills on the river here is the Miihlen- 
damm, or mill-dam bridge, lined with an ancient colonnade, occupied by the shops and 
offices of the small Jewish dealers. The Royal stables are above, and contain perhaps 
the best horses to be seen in the capital ; for Berlin makes no boast of fine teams ; the 
best display it can make, royal equipages and all, is very poor compared to the hand¬ 
some spans and gorgeous carriages that we see in our own land. The stables are near 
the Schloss Platz, the great thoroughfare connecting “the new and the old, the elegant 
and the fashionable, with the busy and toiling Berlin.” The Bridge of the Elector is the 
old Lange Bridge, renamed from the fine bronze horse-back statue of Frederick William^ 


Ger 77 tany. 129 

the Great Elector, which was placed here in 1703; this grand majestic figure, with 
four slaves round the pedestal, stands between the quiet repose of the museum island and 
the continual activity of the Old Town ; it is at the head of the narrow winding pass of 
King Street with its high houses and vast blocks of buildings, leading into the busiest 
quarter of the whole city, where “ from morning till night there is no moment of 
quiet or rest from the unceasing throng and rattle of wheels.” The low, four-wheeled 
drosky, or cab, dashes over the bridge with a merchant or a humble marketer, lumbers up 
King Street amidst the crowded throng of people and vehicles, past the great post-office, 
the vast block covered by the Berlin Town Hall, and many other buildings, to the rail¬ 
way station beyond, in Alexander Platz, or out into the suburbs of Stradlau or Konig- 
stadt above with its pretty Frederick’s Park, perhaps ; or turning into some side street, 
may set down its occupant in the front of store or office or dwelling, for the cheap drosky 
with its good-natured driver, called schwager —brother-in-law—carries all sorts of 
people to all sorts of places; and the Old Town is full of both. From here come 
wholesale quantities to supply all the material wants of the city ; it is the “ down town ” 
of New York, or the “ City ” of London, densely peopled and crowded with business. 
Below the Konigs strasse, which runs through the center of Old Berlin toward the north¬ 
east and ends in the Alexander Platz,—below this crowded thoroughfare is a very closely 
built up and thickly settled quarter, bounded on the east by broad promenades, laid out 
over the ancient ramparts. In this old quarter are many of the important and most-used 
public buildings of the city. At the head of the Muhlendammis the Molken Markt, the 
oldest square in the city, in front of the principal police court and the criminal court 
houses, which form a large group of ancient-looking buildings with some of the wings 
extending along the river. Above is the oldest church in Berlin, St. Nicholas, 
with its two lofty towers, and picturesque interior. In another respect than age this is 
also a remarkable building ; every kind of artistic style in architecture since the end of 
the Gothic period, which was about the sixteenth century, is here represented, some¬ 
times by work of great value and beauty. Numbers of tablets, screens, and some famous 
tombs are in this old church, which has seen Berlin grow to its present size and import¬ 
ance from a little town of the thirteenth century before it was united with Kolln, 
across the river. 

Near by is another ancient building—the Kurfiirsten haus, or House of the Electors, 
the great princes, who used to elect the emperor or the king in the earlier days of the 
first German empire. 

To the east of this is an imposing square of brick buildings with granite facings and 
terra cotta ornamentation, occupying a large space fronting on the King Street. This 
is the Berlin Rathhaus, or Town Hall, and is entered by the main portal under the lofty 
clock tower, which is always illuminated after dark, and tells the time, day and night, 
over a large part of the city. 


130 


Cities of the World. 


One very interesting part of the outside of this great building is the set of reliefs on 
the front of the balcony, representing important scenes in old and new Berlin. 

Entering the Rathhaus one passes the bronze statues of Emperor William and 
Elector Frederick I. ; beyond, the main staircase leads to the star-vaulted passage with 
beautiful stained glass windows bearing the arms of eighty-four Prussian towns. The 
Library is on the right, with vaulted ceilings and paintings on the walls. On the book¬ 
case doors are medallion portraits of celebrated men, connected with the books within. 
Passing through the small reading room, with ceiling paintings of the German legends 
and busts of Bismarck and Moltke, the handsome Fest-saal is reached. This beautiful 
room is too interesting to pass through quickly. Visitors “ break their necks,” they say, 
before they can take their eyes from the fine coffered ceilings, with their sunken panels, 
bearing pictures by a celebrated artist. From the roof hang massive candelabra, while 
the doors are of oak richly carved. Beside the statues in the Saal, there is the great 
picture of the Berlin Congress of European powers to settle the “ Eastern question,” which 
was held in the residence of the Chancellor of the Empire on the Wilhelm strasse, from 
the 13th of June to July 13, 1878. 

Among the most important places in the Old Town is the extensive Central Post 
Office, which is the head of a postal system ^as prompt and /sure and far-reaching in its 
way as the telegraph, I told you about, is in a similar kind of usefulness. In the upper 
part of Alt Berlin is the old “New Market” in which stands the second parish church 
of the ancient town. It is five or six centuries old, with a very peculiar Gothic spire 
about three hundred feet high. 

Among the many streets running in all directions from here some lead 
to the river and the imposing Borse or Exchange, opposite the cathedral on the 
island. Berliners point this out as their first modern building made of stone instead 
of brick. The main front overlooks the river with a double colonnade ; a fine large 
carved group in sandstone is above in the center, and smaller ones with other statuary- 
on the wings. The Great Hall is the largest in Berlin ; it is lined with an imitation 
of marble and divided by arcades into the money department and the corn exchange. 
The gallery, which is above the hall, is often filled with visitors, watching the busy 
crowds below, where more than three thousand people meet every day. From every 
quarter of the inner town there are many streets leading directly to the more openly 
built suburbs, whose streets are broader and squares are planted with trees and flower 
beds ; the dwellings are nearly all vast apartment houses, built of brick, plas¬ 
tered or stuccoed outside. Their balconied fronts are like hanging gardens in summer, 
filled with flowers from ground to roof. All the rented houses in Berlin are novv-a-days 
built in flats. They are to be seen in almost all the newer parts of the city. They are 
immense structures, many stories high, and extending the entire depth of the block. 
The social standing of the family is gauged by the location of their flat. The poor class 



FREDERICK STREET, 


BERLIN 
























































































132 


Cities of the World. 


and often the low class live below ground in what are called the sunken floors. It is 
said that one-tenth of the population of the capital lives in this way below the surface of 
the ground. Certainly this is where the dens of wickedness are always found ; and many 
a counterfeiters’ cellar and thieves’ resort of Berlin is in full blast in some sunken floor, 
so carefully concealed that none but the keen, watchful eyes of the trained police and 
detectives ever spy it out. But there are others, respectable people, who are con¬ 
tent or compelled to take a modest seat on the social ladder of Berlin, who live year after 
year in the cellar of vast apartment houses under the same roof with people who are 
“respectable,” “quite proper,” “ desirable,” and “ very much sought,” on the various 
floors above them. Those who occupy rear rooms do not stand so well as those who 
have front rooms ; the basement, or ground floor, and the first, second, and third floors, 
even the fourth sometimes are good apartments : “ but the fifth and sixth fall in the social 
scale as they rise into the fresh pure air.” 

The Luisenstadt, another new quarter, lies below the island, and occupies the 
southern part of the city, below the Wall strasse, which runs in the same direction as 
the lower part of the island, just below the left arm of the river. The Luisenstadt, with 
all its thrift, its streets lined with lofty buildings and filled with large numbers of people, 
has sprung up during the last thirty years. Its great public buildings are few. St. 
Michael’s Church is very handsome outside ; St. Thomas’, inside ; and the large, gloomy 
Bethanien Hospital, with its three hundred and fifty beds, makes up for being homely in 
taking excellent care of the sick and wounded, who are brought to it day and night. 
This is a manufacturing district. Here are crowded, one on another, establishments for 
making furniture, working metals, tanning leather, and opposite to them are the great 
shawl factories and cloth mills, and near by hundreds of people are at work in the 
gigantic buildings where sugar is refined, spirits distilled, paper, silks, sewing machines, 
and other valuable articles in Berlin trade are made. Bordering upon the factories are vast 
blocks occupied by yards for wool and for wood and coal. The vegetable gardens are fur¬ 
ther out and near them are immense markets for garden produce and cattle. In the midst 
and the vicinity of all these many of the poor of the great city live in their great shabby 
tenements, so striking in contrast that one would scarcely believe that these unpleasant, 
busy, dirty quarters on the southern and eastern outskirts belong to the snme city as the 
palace lined streets of the Outer Friedrichstadt and the Privy Councilors’ Quarter. 

Some of the important cities in Germany and other monarchies are free ; that is, they 
can make their own laws and are under the protection of the Emperor, but subject to 
no other power. The largest of German free cities is Hamburg, which is also a free port, 
having to pay no tax itself for the right of navigation, but receiving a toll on all foreign 
shipping. These good privileges were granted in the Thirteenth Century by the Emperor 
Francis I., who saw that the insignificant city, five hundred years old then, was in the 
right place to become a strong outpost and wealthy seaport ; it began to improve at 



Germa7iy. 


133 



once, and has ever since been one of the most important commercial cities of the world. 
With its port of Cuxhaven it commands much of the open sea-coast of Germany at the 
mouth of the mighty Elbe river, which here forms a harbor from three to five miles wide. 
In this situation, open to direct connection with all the ports of the North Sea, and with¬ 
in a short distance from the Baltic, 

Hamburg ranks among the first 
ports of Northern Europe, and is 
second only to Berlin among all 
German cities. Nearly all traces 
of its flourishing medieval days 
were swept away by the great fire 
of 1842. The city therefore is 
now mainly made up of new streets 
and modern buildings, except down 
by the harbor. The harbor itself, 
with many vessels from all quar¬ 
ters of the globe, is always full of 
life and activity, with locks and 
canals overhung by great cranes 
and derricks entirely cutting up 
the central and eastern part of the 
city. The old fortifications which 
encircled the inner town have had 
an eventful history ; they kept 
out every enemy during, the Thirty 
Years’ War ; but had to yield to 
Napoleon in 1806, whose garrison 
suffered deprivation and death 
under the Russian siege ; in the 
next year Hamburg joined the 
German confederation and de¬ 
voted itself to its own affairs ; the 
walls are leveled now, and are 
only marked by the handsome 
green ring of boulevards and canal at Hamburg. 

promenades between the old town 

and the suburbs. These are very extensive, including some adjoining cities and a popu¬ 
lation of four hundred and fifty thousand. Travelers say that Hamburg is one of the most 
beautiful cities in Germany, although one part is old and dingy, and its narrow streets 
















134 


Cities of the World. 



are overhung with half decayed houses of a former century. “ But as we go back from 
the river, we mount higher, and come into an entirely different town, with wide 
streets, lined with large fine buildings. The peculiar beauty of the town is formed by 

a small stream, the 
Alster, which runs- 
through the city and 
empties into the 
Elbe, and which is 
dammed up so as to 
form two very pretty 
sheets of water, one 
within the northern 
promenades, s e p a r- 
ated from the outer 
lake by a handsome 
bridge.” Around 
the inner lake are 
grouped the largest 
hotels and some of 
the finest buildings 
in the city, and this 
is the center of its 
joyous life, especially 
at the close of day. 
When evening comes 
on all Hamburg 
flocks to the “ Alster- 
dam’,” or lake-em¬ 
bankment. Then it 
is the brightest, gay¬ 
est of places. The 
water is covered with 
boats, gliding about 
among the tame 
swans; “the quays 
HAMBURG MARKETwoMAN. are lighted up bril¬ 

liantly and the cafes 

swarm with people ; all ages are abroad enjoying the cool evening air.” Among the few 
grand old buildings that escaped the fire there are three beautiful churches, especially 




















Germany, 


135 



the Nicholas Church, now standing in an open square on one of the largest canals, in 
the vicinity of imposing new buildings. The spire of this church is said by the Ham¬ 
burgers to be a few feet higher than the Cathedral of Cologne ; the guide-books give it 
at four hundred and seventy-three feet, or the third highest in Europe—Cologne and 
Rouen being more lofty. 

On the western side of the city is a peculiar district or suburb between Hamburg 
and the adjoining city of 
Altona, called St. Pauli. 

This is the great sailors’ 
rendezvous, best known 
as the “ burg ” of Ham¬ 
burg. The place, from 
water front to its furthest 
northern limits, is full of 
theaters, gardens, cafes 
and all kinds of places 
of outdoor and indoor 
amusements, with booths 
and cheap bazars, and 
any number of hawkers 
and venders, thriving off 
the continual stream of 
transient tars from every 
clime. 

Active, busy Breslau, 
with its woolen mills and 
silk looms and the branch¬ 
ing Oder calmly flowing 
through it, does not look 
like a city of checkered 
history. The handsome 
lively streets or the grand 
old buildings do not show spring floods at Hamburg. 

any traces of its having 

been stormed and captured, retaken and fought over for centuries ; but its old walls saw 
the sieges ; and, whether they wanted to or not, did their stoutest to guard the Bohemians 
against the Poles, as shortly before they had shielded the Poles from the Bohemians ; or 
it was the Prussians and the Austrians that alternately held or stormed the city. If walls 
only had tongues as well as ears ! But after all it would do us no good now, 






136 


Cities of the World. 


for they have been taken down and a beautiful tree-planted promenade lies in their places, 
just within the old moat, called the City Canal. These are crossed by some very fine bridges 
and overlooked by many fine buildings, old and new. The Old Town thus inclosed, is laid 
out in regular squares, and crossed about midway between the canal and the center by a set 
of three parallel streets, describing almost a complete half circle below the Oder, where 
the main part of the city is situated. Every thing tends toward the Ring, a large square 
in the center, which has always been the busiest part of the town, the heart of trade from 
which the main arteries are the central streets running from it to the north and south 
and to the east and west. Breslau is the third city of Germany, and the second of Prus¬ 
sia, having about three hundred thousand people ; it is the capital of Silesia, and stands 
in the center of a large manufacturing district, from which it keeps up an extensive trade 
by water and rail with important cities on every side. Its own manufactures yield a 
large income, for the dress goods of all kinds, the ornaments, machinery and articles 
used in housekeeping made here in the Oder Valley, are in constant demand. The gay 
stores and steady business push of the inner town is in strange contrast with iis som¬ 
ber, massive buildings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The City Hall and Coun¬ 
cil Chambers, standing in the Center of the Ring, are among the most magnificent build¬ 
ings in Prussia, “ noble monuments,” they are called, “ to the prosperous age of Charles 
IV. and other Luxemburg monarchs.” The University stands in the upper part of the 
Old Town, on the bank of the river, with some of its buildings on an island opposite 
called the Sands. The most celebrated churches of Breslau are on the upper bank, 
reached from the island and the main-land by several bridges ; chief among them is the 
old cathedral, which was finished in the fourteenth century after four hundred years of 
building. 

Dresden has long been famous for the china-ware manufactured at the adjacent 
town of Meissen, where the Royal Porcelain Manufactory is still carried on. Unlike most 
of the cities grown from medieval towns, the capital of Saxony was of no importance 
until the end of that sleeping-time in art; and it came into note with the Renaissance at 
the close of the fifteenth century, introducing the ornamental designing in its pottery 
and architecture, for which it has been called the “ Cradle of Rococo Art.” 

It is truly German in having a center stadt or old town, with newer parts grouped 
about it ; but this is not so distinct in Dresden as in many older cities. It is about the 
size of Bordeaux in France, with two hundred and fifty thousand people ; without count¬ 
ing the many visitors always in the city, for the fame of its collections has spread to every 
part of the world. The greatest center of attraction is on the lower bank of the swift¬ 
flowing Elbe, along which there are many of the most magnificent buildings in the city. 
To the right is the new Court Theater, adjoining a fine openplatzon one side and pretty 
garden on the other, both embellished with fountain and statues. The front of the 
building, in which are the ante-rooms and auditorium, stands out in a large semi-circle. 


Germany. 


137 


with a magnificent turreted portico, adorned with statues. The interior is gorgeously 
decorated with sculpture in marble, colored columns and paintings upon the walls and 
ceilings by eminent artists. Near by, with the great square of the Theater Platz separat¬ 
ing it from the river, is the elaborate Zwinger (or Great Court), which, vast and grand as 
it is, was intended only as the vestibule of a palace by Augustus II., called the Strong, 
who died in 1733. before his splendid plans were completed. They were never carried 
out, but the Zwinger was finished in later years, in a set of pavilions, connected by a 
gallery of one story and inclosing a large oblong court, which is laid out in pleasure 
grounds adorned with statuary and, in summer, with orange trees. The north-east wing 
of the Zwinger is the museum, made up of the famous picture gallery, engravings, draw¬ 
ings and a room of casts. The remainder and the pavilions are occupied by the museum 
of zoology and minerals and a collection of mathematical and physical instruments. The 
pictures are arranged in a long series of rooms, lighted from above with side courts ; so 
you are not bewildered with a host of beautiful objects at once, but, following on, see one 
distinct collection after another. This gallery was founded about the middle of the last 
century, but already ranks with the Paris Louvre, the Pitti and the Uffizi Palaces of Flor¬ 
ence, as the finest in the world. Opposite the eastern end of the Zwinger there is a fine 
open platz with some handsome churches adjacent and large public buildings at the head 
of the parallel rings of streets ; Prince’s Palace is part of the vast, irregular old pile of 
the King’s Palace which occupies the principal place among the massive group of build¬ 
ings. The Green Gate in the northern facade is surmounted by the loftiest tower in 
Dresden, and leads to the Great Court of the Palace, through which you pass, full of 
admiration for the beautiful work of by-gone kings you see on every side, to the Green 
Vault, a wing named from the color on the walls of one room. Here is the most precious 
collection of curiosities in the world,—jewels, trinkets and small works of art, ornaments 
wrought by goldsmiths of the sixteenth and seventeenth cenuries, enamels of Limoges, 
carved ivories and cut crystals. There are also other most interesting cabinets in the 
Palace, and the Royal Gallery of Arms, adjoining; but still further beyond rises the old 
Johanneum on the corner of the New Market, where the celebrated historical museum 
is kept. This is the most important and valuable collection of historical relics in Ger¬ 
many. There are weapons and armor, household articles and wearing apparel labeled 
and arranged according to date ; they range from objects used in the sixteenth century 
down, showing the life and customs of people of earlier days. 

Besides these there are many things that have been owned and used by famous people ; 
a chair, a cabinet, and two rings that belonged to Martin Luther and a suit made of 
silver for Christian II, of Saxony. The collection is divided into different sections, there 
being the Pistol Chamber, the Battle Saloon with suits of armor, blood stained clothing, 
swords, weapons and many other things from the famous battle fields of Germany ; the 
Saddle Chamber, with ancient trappings of the Saxon Kings and Electors ; the Cos- 


138 


Cities of the World. 


tume Chamber, in which are the coat and boots worn by Napoleon I. at the battle of 
Dresden, and many others. The Johanneum has also a collection of porcelain contain¬ 
ing about fifteen thousand pieces arranged according to their age. It is the finest col¬ 
lection in the world, and includes ware made in China, Japan, East India, France and 
Italy ; while that of Dresden itself, from the first attempt of Bottger early in 1700 down 
to the present day, the other modern European manufactures of Sevres, Berlin, etc., is 
most interesting of all. 

All around the Johanneum there are other buildings,—Academies, collections and 
galleries, and in front of them is the Briihl Terrace, a celebrated promenade along the 
river. A broad flight of steps, decorated with gilded groups of Night, Morning, Noon 
and Evening in sandstone, descends from the gardens, the pretty walks, caf^s and other 
out-door attractions of the Terrace, to the Schloss Platz, which stands at the head of the 
Augustus Bridge, leading to the Neu Stadt. This is the center bridge and the finest of the 
three crossing the Elbe at Dresden, all of which are masterpieces of bridge-building. The 
Marien Bridge further west leads to the gardens of the Japanese Palace, which is chiefly 
noted for its collection of antique vases, bronzes, terra-cottas, tombs and statues, and 
the more important royal public library, which was founded some time in 1500 by the 
Elector Augustus. The center of the New Town is a large circular place called the 
Alberts Platz, from which very broad and handsome streets radiate in every direction. 
One of them leads to the Japanese Palace, with its beautiful gardens on the upper 
bank of the river ; others go through a district entirely built up with large barracks and 
military hospitals, a town in themselves ; but the main avenue and the handsomest one 
is wider than all the others and planted with double rows of trees ; it connects the Platz with 
the Augustus Bridge in the great Market Place above the quay. This is a lively place 
at all times, but especially so on market days, when you have the best of chances to see 
Dresden at work. The chief play-ground, or pleasure garden of the city is the Great 
Garden (used the same as we say park), on the south-eastern outskirts. It is reached from 
the Old Town by a long and slightly curving set of promenades planted with trees called 
the Biirgerweise. About midway along this beautiful set of garden-streets stands the 
grounds and stately buildings of Prince George’s Palace, while the adjoining streets con¬ 
tain some of the most magnificent new residences to be seen in any city. The Great 
Garden is a royal park of about three hundred acres, with the Lust Schloss or Palace of 
Pleasure in the center. This was built for a royal chateau in 1680, but is now used for 
the royal Museum of Antiquities, chiefly of objects made during the Middle Ages. 

This park is large and particularly beautiful, the resort of all classes of people. 
There are plenty of restaurants and cafes and in summer-time a band plays regularly. 
The people stroll in family groups or seat themselves in pleasant companies in the cafe, 
when one and all drink the national beverage. On a holiday evening, thousands enjoy 
themselves in this way. There are a number of fine animals in the Zoological Garden, 
which occupies the lower part of the park. 


Germany. 


139 


With its academies, schools, institutes and superb collections, Dresden has better 
opportunities for education than almost any city on the continent ; there is a large 
English quarter, made up of families, who have found they could live economically and 
comfortably while giving their boys and girls the best instruction and associations. The 
most famous art city in Germany is Munich. It is made up of an endless succession of 
extensive and magnificent palaces in which are gathered some of the richest treasures 
of paintings, sculpture and all other branches of art in the world. It lies at a height of 



THE “ BAVARIA ” AND THE HALL OF FAME, MUNICH. 


almost two thousand feet above the sea on the southern bank of the “ Iser, rolling rapid¬ 
ly.” It was a little town, known in the twelfth century ; the capital of the kingdom but 
without any celebrity, until the reign of Ludwig I. Now almost every church, palace and 
public hall, representing all the fine styles of architecture, is worthy a separate description, 
with their galleries and cabinets, nearly all of which have been raised during the last fifty 
years. To visit Munich thoroughly is a journey, almost wearisome, through broad streets, 
extensively laid out with one sumptuous edifice after another ; but many strangers go 



















140 


Cities of the World. 


there to live. It is a cheaper place of residence than any other in Germany, and in 
addition to its vast attractions in art has a fine university, called the Ludwig-Maximilian, 
and a great many special schools and institutes for scientific and literary study. Although 
it is as large as Dresden in population, it is not very thriving in a business way, excepting 
the iron, brass and bell foundries, and its numbers of engravers, lithographers and 
manufacturers of fine scientific instruments, who have a world-wide fame. The Germans 
think much of Munich as the place where their best Bavarian beer is made ; the enor¬ 
mous breweries are royal institutions and an important part of the city, employing a great 
many people. Other factories supply moderate quantities of some common articles of 
general use. One can hardly remember the names of all the galleries, museums, and 
palatial buildings ; it is difficult to pick out even half a dozen more interesting than the 
others. 

One that is the oftenest referred to, perhaps, is the Old Pinakothek, which is named 
from the Greek and means, “ repository of pictures.” It is said to be the noblest picture 
gallery in Europe ; it contains hall after hall of almost fourteen hundred beautiful 
paintings. The New Pinakothek, although it is not so grand a building, is celebrated 
for the great frescoes representing the development of art, on the outside ; it has, within, 
a vast collection of paintings by the greatest modern artists. The Glyptothek is the 
repository of sculptures ; ” a building of the Greek style outside, with Roman interior, 
devoted to ancient statuary. The Ruhmeshalle, or Hall of Fame, that stands above the 
city, is almost always visited by strangers, less on account of its collections than to see 
the wonderful statue of Bavaria standing at the head of the staircase on the terrace 
leading to the Hall. The bronze figure, with a lion by her side, is about seventy feet 
high, and of splendid workmanship ; a spiral staircase in the center leads to the head, 
from which there is a wide view of the city. The Royal Palace, about the most ancient 
building in the place, has many apartments of the most unique and curious collections in 
Munich, beside paintings and sculpture ; the curiosities are of crystals, miniatures and a 
fantastic shell grotto. In the Festsaalbau, or building of festive halls, six of the saloons 
are decorated with wall paintings from the Odyssey, telling the story of the principal 
events in the journey of Ulysses, the Greek hero, who was carried by storms and oracles 
far out of his homeward way, after the Trojan war. The apartments called the 
Konigsbau, adjoining, are in imitation of the Pitti Palace at Florence, and have a series 
of frescoes telling the story of the Niebelungen Lied. This famous legend comes from 
some old manuscript copies of a poem, whose age and author are unknown. It is the 
greatest epic poem in the German language and describes the wonderful deeds of the 
the race of Niebelungen, who are finally conquered by Siegsfried. The miraculous 
achievements of this hero, his death and that of his avenged queen make up the prin¬ 
cipal part of the story. The Munich cemetery, which Mr. Longfellow fias told us is 
called “ God’s acre,” is also called the “ Friedhof,” or “ Court of Peace;” it is very 


Germany. 


141 



extensive and contains some interesting monuments and the scene once common in Ger¬ 
many, but now confined to Munich, of depositing bodies “ with coffin lid raised to 
show the sleeping form ” in a kind 
of corridor behind a glass screen, 
where they lie until the regular 
time of burial, when the lids of 
the coffins to be buried are closed, 
and the priest or pastor comes, 
and holds a short service at the 
grave. 

A large number of the Ger¬ 
man immigrants to this country 
come from the thriving manufac¬ 
turing city of Bremen. This is 
situated on the Weser river, about 
forty miles from where it empties 
into the North Sea ; and next to 
Hamburg it is the largest free 
city of the Empire, being second 
to that city also in maritime trade. 

The Old Town is on the upper 
bank, with its garden-promenades 
on the site of the medieval fortifi¬ 
cation, where the serpentine moat 
is still full of water ; the quaint 
market place is in the center, and 
many fine public buildings of 
another century, stand in large, 
open squares, or the irregular 
curving streets; several bridges 
cross the main stream, or the 
Weser branch to the left bank, 
where the New Town has been 
built up since the Thirty Years’ 

War. Bremen is larger in extent 
for the number of people living luther’s house, frankfort. 

in it than most towns, because the 

houses usually have only one family; the people are mainly occupied by the great fac¬ 
tories,. where woolens, cottons, paper and cigars are made ; in shipbuilding, brew- 
























142 


Cities of the World. 


eries, distilleries, and sugar refineries. The river will not admit large vessels at all 
tides, so it has a port, Bremerhaven, about ten miles from the sea. This has fine docks 
and quays, furnished with improved magazines and cranes, and carries on an active 
trade with foreign countries, particularly the United States. An equally famous city of 
the size of Bremen—two hundred thousand people—is Frankfort-on-the-Main. Its 
reputation is not so much for work, however, as for wealth, which is said to be greater 
for its size than any other in the world. 

“ If its wealth were equally divided among its inhabitants, every man, woman and 
child would have, it is said, 20,000 marks, or some $5,000 apiece. Although there are a 
good many poor people in the town, most of the citizens are in unusually comfortable 
circumstances. It is stated that there are one hundred Frankforters worth from about 
$4,000,000 to $7,000,000 each, and two hundred and fifty who are worth $3,000,000 and 
upward. The city is one of the great banking centers of the globe. Its aggregate bank¬ 
ing capital is estimated at $2,000,000,000, more than one-fourth of which the famous 
Rothschilds own and control, whose original and parent house is there. Its general trade 
and manufacturing industries are not small; some of the most important are the making 
of carpets, jewelry, sewing-machines and tobacco, and the publishing and selling of 
books. These interests have greatly increased since the formation of the German 
Empire, to which Frankfort was originally averse, being a free city and an opponent of 
Prussia. It was coerced, in July, 1866, by General Von Falkenstein, who entered it at 
the head of an army and imposed a fine of 31,000,000 florins, or over twelve million of 
dollars, for its insubordination.” 

“ The old watch-towers show the jealously guarded limits of the ‘ Free Imperial City,’ 
but, as in Vienna, the vast ancient ramparts have been leveled and the Ring, here called 
Anlagen, beautifully planted and adorned with sumptuous private and public buildings, 
gives an air of nobleness to the city.” Beyond the tower of St. Bartholomew’s Cathe¬ 
dral there are few attractive buildings. Its real interest is in its history, beginning with 
the time when Charlemagne selected the “ Ford of the Franks” for a great convoca¬ 
tion of bishops and nobles. This was the beginning of the city’s growth, after which it 
increased in importance, till it finally was chosen as the place for the imperial elections. 

In Frankfort stand two private houses which to many are of greater interest than 
any thing else in the city—in the Hirschgraben, is the place where Goethe was born ; 
and not far from it, in the Cathedral Square, the long, narrow house, with its three- 
sided abutment of bay windows from first story to its gabled roof, is where Martin 
Luther once lived. The Frankfort Jews’ Quarter, like those in Prague, Vienna, and 
other German cities, was long kept apart from the rest of the city, and was a gloomy 
close and squalid and almost separate colony ; but it is not a poor quarter in another 
sense. The Rothschilds and other famous and wealthy houses were founded here : the 
J ews now mingle with other residents on equal terms. 


Gerjnany. 


143 


One of the most famous cities in the world is Cologne. It is the largest town on 
the Rhine, and although comparatively little of it is ever described beyond the wonderful 
Cathedral,-without this it would be far from insignificant. It was founded about half a 
century before Christ, but later came to have the name of Cologne, from being called the 
Colonia Agrippina, after the wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, whose colonists settled 
here. It is surrounded by strong walls and protected by forts. On the opposite bank is 
the town of Deutz, which is a suburb of the city, reached by a bridge of boats and a fine 
iron suspension bridge for railway and carriage traffic. Cologne is the capital of Rhenish 



COLOGNE, AND THE liRlDGE OF BOATS. 


Prussia—a frontier country—and is well situated for commerce, which has always been 
extensive and is now growing important. There are several kinds of manufactures 
carried on, too : articles for household use and furniture, chemicals, tobacco, and the 
spirits of wine, beside the hundreds of thousands of bottles of perfumery water, named 
after the city eau-de-Cologne (water from Cologne), and famous all over the world. The 
streets are the narrow, crooked by-ways of medieval times, overhung by massive and 
picturesque buildings, a great many of which are churches. It used to be said that 













144 


Cities of the World, 


Cologne had a church for every day in the year. Several of them are of beautiful archi¬ 
tecture and decoration, and contain relics to which the guides attach the most improbable 
stories ; but none can compare with the majesty and beauty of the grand old Cathedral, the 
most magnificent Gothic structure ever erected by human hands. It is a forest of stone, 
in the form of a cross, five hundred feet long, two hundred and thirty feet wide, rising, 
tier on tier, to its lofty pointed roof, above which the two front towers rise to five hundred 
feet, with a smaller iron spire in the center of the roof. No other work of man can com¬ 
pare with its long nave and pillared aisles ; perhaps “the avenue of New Haven elms 
comes nearest to it.” The mighty work was begun some time in 1200—it is not known 
just when, nor from whose design—and was finished in 1880. It is said to be the largest 
in the world ; and its towers the highest. There is nothing in Europe so high, but the 
Monument to Washington, at the United States capital, towers fifty feet above them. 

The greatest university city in Germany is Leipsic, the “town of the lime-trees,” 
near the western border of Prussia, with the Elster, the Pleisse and the Parthe rivers 
flowing through or past it. The laboratories and halls of the university are scattered 
through the quaint, narrow streets of the Inner Town, or upon the wide, well-built 
avenues and spacious squares of the newer quarters ; but the main building is one of the 
beautiful group surrounding the Augustus Platz, between the Old Town and 
the eastern suburb. This is a stately, vacant looking platz usually, with its magnificent 
buildings and sculptured monuments ; but when the great Eastern fair is held, it teems 
with life. Then book-sellers throng the city from far and near, to attend the annual 
trade convention in the Bov^k Sellers Exchange ; for Leipsic is the principal place in 
Germany—or the world, after London and Paris, for every thing connected with the 
book-trade. At the Eastern fair over a thousand selling or publishing houses are repre¬ 
sented, in this city ; there are three hundred book-stores in Leipsic alone, and over fifty 
printing establishments, which has led to a great type-foundry business here, also,- which 
is the largest in the empire. Altogether, the transactions during the three or four weeks 
of the Eastern fair amount to fifty millions of dollars. This is not entirely from books 
but largely so, in the bargains for the regular yearly trade and special sale of rare vol¬ 
umes and literary curiosities. It is attended by Europeans, Americans, Jews, Turks, 
Greeks, Armenians, Persians, and even Chinese. There are two other fairs held here 
every year ; the most important being the June Wool Market. The Augustus Platz is 
overlooked by the magnificent buildings of the museum, the New Theater, one of the 
finest in Germany, and the Augusteum or main part of the University. Adjoining this 
there are handsome gardens with a lake, skirted by the promenades laid out over the old 
fortifications. These now serve to mark the dividing line between the Old Town of the 
eleventh century, and the newer city lying about it on all sides. These promenades are 
a favorite resort for students and town people, who linger here by thousands “ when 
comes still evening on.” The walks are planted with beautiful avenues of lime and 


Germany. 


145 


chestnut trees, which broaden out into little parks in several places. In the center of 
the Old Town is the Market Place, where the quaint tower of the ancient Town Hall rises 
above lofty antique mansions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In a walk 
through any of the streets running from here you would see a great many of these old 
houses, standing closely packed together, as if to leave no space room for modern archi¬ 
tecture to wedge itself in. Near the Market Place, on the finest street leading to the 
University, is Auerbachs’ Cellar, the famous restaurant where Goethe has laid a scene in 
his drama of “ Faust ; ” it has always been a rendezvous for students ; the great poet 



TOWN HALL, LLIPSIC. 


who used to come here very often, saw, as you and I can see now, the Faust legend 
in ancient fresco paintings on the walls. Schiller lived in Leipsic once, too ; the house 
is above the Market Place, in Hain Strasse, where, also, the great composer, Richard 
Wagner, was born. This street is now a resort for Jews who come to the fairs, and is 
taken up with the fur stores and other shops of a great many Jewish dealers. Everywhere 
in the midst of the life and pleasure of the living Leipsic there are monuments and tab¬ 
lets reminding you of great men who have been here in the past. In the Concert Room 
of the Library Mendelssohn conducted the orchestra and chorus some fifty years ago ; 
















146 


Cities of the World. 


and the conservatory of music, which is the most famous in Europe, has a long, long list 
of celebrated men that have been connected with it ; but greater names than these 
stands on the roll of the University. This is chief among all other places in the city ; it 
was established in the first years of 1400, after the dispute at Prague between the Ger¬ 
mans and Bohemians. There are about a hundred and fifty professors and lecturers, and 
about three thousand students, more than any other in Germany, the land of Universi¬ 
ties,—with Halle excelling in theology; Gottingen, in jurisprudence, with Tubingen 
and half-a-dozen others, to say nothing of Berlin and “ enchanting Heidelburg,” as 
famous for its beautiful scenery as its great lecturers. It is, due to the University that 
Leipsic is so great a center for literary and intellectual life, and that it is so wonder¬ 
fully well supplied with libraries, museums and other educational advantages as it is. 

Magdeburg, on the Elbe, in Prussian Saxony, is one of the most strongly fortified 
towns in the kingdom ; it is also famous for commerce and trade by water and the great 
railways that meet here, and is a familiar name in history. Martin Luther spent his boy¬ 
hood here ; he used to sing in the streets and receive the bounty of the people. Otto 
von Guericke, who invented the air-pump and astonished the imperial diet with his 
“ hemisphere experiment,” was burgomaster of Magdeburg, and named his great experi¬ 
ment with air the “ Magdeburg Hemispheres.” 

The city has had an important place in the religious troubles of Germany ever since 
967, when it was chosen by Pope John XHI. as the see of the primate of the Old Em¬ 
pire. The archbishops and town officers were often at war during the Middle Ages ; and 
when the city adopted the doctrines of reform, it drew down the wrath of both the 
emperor and the archbishops. But even these troubles were far short of the calamities 
that fell upon the fortress during the Thirty Years’ War. For twenty-eight weeks it stood 
the siege of the imperialists, but, betrayed by one of the inhabitants to Tilly, who 
entered it and spent three days in sacking it ; the enemy put it to flames and the most 
wanton destruction from which the cathedral and only about a hundred and fifty houses 
escaped. Thirty thousand people were slain, and a great many thrown into the river. In 
house No. 164 in Breiteweg —Broadway—the betrayer of the city used to live ; in front of 
it you now see : Remember the ioth May, 1631. This street is long and wide, but 
throughout the rest of the town the busy thoroughfares are nearly all narrow and crooked. 
Magdeburg and its archbishopric became a duchy in 1648, of the house of Brandenburg ; 
in the early part of the century it was taken by the French, but restored again to Prussia 
with the fall of Napoleon, eight years later. It is now the Prussian Saxony capital, 
thrivingly busy, and inhabited by about a hundred and fifty thousand people, as many 
as there are in Montreal, Canada. 



ENCHANTING HEIDELBERG 




















































































































































SCANDINAVIA. 



HE great sea-girt countries of Scandinavia are far more familiar to most young 


X people as the land of the Northmen than of any nineteenth century greatness ; but the 
adventurous old sea-kings are gone like the fairies, “ ages and ages ago,” and in their 
places large and civilized nations possess the beech groves and pine forests, lakes, fiords 
and rocky shores of the Land of the Midnight Sun, 

Of the three kingdoms, Denmark is the smallest, the most southerly and the most 
important. Adjoining the German state of Sleswick-Holstein, this little kingdom is 
situated on the peninsular of Jutland and on the group of islands that crowd the 
Kattegat, a broad arm of the Baltic between Jutland and Sweden. On the most easterly 
of these, looking across The Sound to Sweden is Copenhagen, the capital. 

The city lies partly upon the island of Zealand and partly upon the upper point of 
the much smaller island of Amager in the Sound, separated by a deep strait, which forms 
the Copenhagen Harbor. It is this, now lined with docks and always filled with ships, 
that first gave the city an existence as well as its name, which means Merchants’ Haven. 
Some of the quays are broad, well paved and planted with trees. The grim, unsightly old 
ramparts have been replaced on the land side by boulevards, but the batteries and 
fortifications toward the sea still stand. The appearance of the city has altered very 
much during the last fifteen years. The walls have been leveled, the streets enlarged 
and new buildings raised, all in welcome of returning commerce and trade after the 
troubles with Germany that came to an end in 1866. The fashionable quarter occupies 
the north-eastern portion of the city, with lofty gabled and dormer houses, often six 
stories high, and great buildings severely decorated with escutcheons and national 
devices. To the northward is the citadel and adjoining public gardens and walks on the 
shores of the Sound, and near by the handsome Amalienborg square, is where the 
royal palaces stand, which are occupied by the King, Christian IX., the Crown Prince, 
and one of the state ministers. The north-west corner of the town is a mariners’ quarter, 
where sea-faring men and their families have had their homes for two centuries in the 
one-storied houses that line the blocks of parallel streets. Below the vicinity of the 
Jack Tars’ cottages is the most beautiful place in Copenhagen, the Rosenborg Palace, 
standing at the end of a stately old garden. This was built for a royal residence early 
in 1600, but it has been a museum-palace for the last century and a half, with many 



COPENHAGEN, WITH A VIEW OP THE CHKISTlANBORG 






















































































































































































































Cities of the World. 


150 

rooms full of things that belonged to Christian IV., the first Danish monarch who 
lived in it, and all who have followed him ; the latest things are of the date 1863. 
Adjoining the Palace is the Rosenborg Garden, which is usually filled with children 
and their nursery maids. “ There in the sunny afternoons of the long Northern summer 
days one may see children sporting in the long avenue overhung with grateful shade, 
at the end of which, in a little garden plat, stands the statue of Hans Christian 
Andersen,” the great Danish story-teller. Copenhagen was Andersen’s home during a 
part of his life, and here many of his wonderful tales are laid. You can see the very 
East Street mentioned in the “ Goloshes of Fortune,” narrow, winding, and now-a-days 
lined with many French-looking stores ; in front of the Fredericks Hospital is the iron 
picket fence “ through which the unfortunate young man thrust his head,” and there is 
also Holmens Kanal, from which Andersen started in his “ Journey on Foot.” From the 
Kanal there is quite a fine view of the business part of the city, which lies below ihe 
aristocratic quarter. In about the center, between the two, is the Kongens Nytorv, or 
King’s New Market, a modern-looking circular place with trees surrounding a statue in 
the center. From here a canal with its broad quays, its shipping and warehouses runs 
eastward to the Harbor, and the broad Gothengade (street) in the opposite direction, leads 
past the Rosenborg Gardens and Boulevard to the pleasant walks of the Botanical Gardens. 
Thirteen streets radiate from the Market, of which the Oestergade is the gayest and 
the handsomest with its fine shops and steady stream of people. Copenhagen is a city, 
full of active, energetic people ; they are mainly merchants and students, “ each all 
Dane ” for the time, though natives of many lands. In this lower part of the city, with 
its narrow, crooked and irregular streets, an arm running from the Harbor forms a large 
and almost square island occupied by the Christianborg Palace and adjoining buildings, 
the most notable group in the city. The vast courts of the palace contain the halls of 
the Royal Picture Gallery, the Upper and Lower Chambers of the Danish Parliament, 
the Supreme Law Courts, the fine Royal Library, the Royal Stables and the Arsenal. 
Adjoining the Palace, on the harbor quay, is the picturesque red brick building of the 
Exchange, with its famous dragon spire, formed of three marvelous dragons with their 
tails, twisted together in the air, reaching a height of a hundred and fifty feet. “ A queer 
building, in the shadow of the palace, which attracts notice by its frescoed walls, is the 
Thorwaldsen Museum, where Denmark has collected all the works and memorials of her 
greatest artist, Bertel Thorwaldsen.” It contains either originals or copies of all the 
statuary the celebrated sculptor ever made. Crossing the Harbor by the lower bridge 
you reach the Vor Frelsers Kirke, or Church of Our Redeemer, which has a winding 
staircase on the outside of the steeple to the figure of the Saviour on the summit. The 
view from here extends even to the coast of Sweden, across the Sound. The Vor Frue 
Kirke, or Church of Our Land, with its beautiful marble statuary by Thorwaldsen, and 
the Trinity Church, with its famous old Round Tower, ascended by a winding brick 


Stockholm. 


151 

causeway, so wide that horses can be driven up and down it, are in the south-west corner 
of the city, in the vicinity of the great University. This is attended by over a thousand 
students, and here is a Danish “ Latin Quarter,” where many men are supported by the 
government while they carry on studies in the highest branches of learning. It is a 
great center for other than Danish students and is the seat of many important societies 
for the advancement of art and the literature of the North. English is much spoken 
here and the people wear the plain European dress, familiar to us. The Danes 
themselves are cosmopolitan, that is, not bound to old national customs, and the capital 
is peopled from all nations. With the population of the adjoining suburbs it is the size 
of New Orleans, Louisiana, having about two hundred and fifty thousand people. The 
great city pleasure ground lies beyond the southern boulevard, opposite the University 
quarter. At the Tivoli, as it is called, all kinds of evening amusements are provided in 
the illuminated gardens and woods—some of the beeches for which Denmark is so 
famous—and the tiny lake. All classes of people meet here on an equality ; they ride in 
the “ rush-railway,” whose little cars sweep down curves and up in a most delightful take- 
your-breath-away fashion ; they see the dramas, or the dancing, loiter in the restaurants 
or cafes, or stroll through the pleasant walks. Another promenade is along the high 
dam or mound leading northward along the shores of the Sound and commanding a view 
of the vessels sailing through the narrow branch of the sea between the city and 
Amager. 

The second city of Scandinavia is Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It 
stands at the head of the lovely Lake Malar, the last of a chain of water-ways made up 
of lakes and canals, that cross the peninsula. Lake Malar is dotted all over with 
islands of every form and size, some surmounted with castles and others studded with 
peasants’ houses and fishing hamlets. Stockholm is a city of the most striking 
contrasts, situated on seven islands or holms, at the outlet of the lake into the Baltic. 
It is the most beautiful of all Northern cities and bears the name of the Northern Venice 
more appropriately than Amsterdam. But it is far from a copy of the famous city of 
the south, having its own peculiar beauty ; its islands are made by natural arms of the 
sea and its surroundings are majestic hills, crags and wooded landscapes. The most 
picturesque of the islets is the Sodermalm, on whose steep sides the houses, connected 
more by steps than by roads, rise in terraced rows to the summit, which is crowned by 
the church of St. Catherine. This island was once a rugged mountain, but is now a 
southern suburb ; from its built-up heights there is still a magnificent view of the 
water-streets, the life and northern architecture of the capital ; on a holm near by is the 
Deergarden, a great pleasure ground that is full of attractions and of people winter and 
summer. Other little parks and delightful promenades are scattered throughout the 
city. The center isle of the group is occupied by a huge palace built in the middle of 
the last century and “ the old church of Riddarholmen, where Gustavus Adolphus, the 


152 


Cities of the World. 


greatest soldier and most faultless king of Sweden, and many other royal persons repose 
beneath the banner-hung arches. The bridge at the junction of the lake and the 
Baltic is the center of life, and below them is a little pleasure garden,” where hundreds 
of people are constantly eating and drinking under the trees, and where strains of music 
are wafted late into the summer night; the little steam gondolas, filled with people, dart 
and hiss through the waters from one island to another, for bridges are few in the city 
and the water-ways innumerable, and the little boats are the chief means of 
communication, a passage only costing what is equal to one penny. The streets of the 
older quarters of the town are narrow, crooked and poorly paved. The capital was 
founded in about the thirteenth century and called Stockholm, or the Stake Island, 
because the islands were enlarged by piles or stakes. The newer parts are made up of 
fine, straight streets and large squares built up with stone houses; the suburban 
dwellings are mostly of wood. The king and his court reside in Stockholm ; the 
government and the courts meet here ; it is the center of Swedish society and literary 
culture and has a great many institutions both for education and doing good. It is the 
great commercial depot for Sweden in the country’s products of iron, deal planks and 
timber, and for the manufactures of the land, in which cabinet making and other 
branches of wood-working take the lead. Sweden is an industrious country with a 
wide-spread interest in education. The kingdoms of Sweden and Norway have the 
same monarch, crowned by each ; the same representatives abroad and a common mint. 
Otherwise they are perfectly distinct, each with its own institutions and laws. In Sweden 
there is a titled nobility, but not in Norway, although the large landed proprietors are 
really a sort of aristocracy. Norway, on the whole, is a nation of less cultivation than 
Sweden, with a population growing too fast for its resources. Still, education is 
compulsory and free and always includes several branches of useful knowledge with a 
large amount of training in Bible-history, Bible-reading, and psalm singing. The capital 
of the country and its largest town is Christiana, at the head of the Kattegat. 
It is the seat of government, a university town and a commercial port of the North Sea, 
but withal can not compare with Copenhagen or Stockholm. There are some pretty 
places about it, but none beautiful. “From the avenues upon the ramparts you look 
down over the broad expanse of the fiord, or strait, and see the low blue mountains in 
the distance. Little steamers dart backward and forward and convey visitors from 
one place to another among the surroundings. The town of Christiana proper was laid 
out by Christian IV. in 1614 in the form of a regular parallelogram of a thousand paces 
in length and breadth ; but the capital now includes several other quarters and suburbs, 
having altogether a population of about a hundred and twenty-five thousand people. 
The excellent university here is the only one in Norway and has about a thousand 
students in its various departments. The city has good schools and some celebrated 
learned societies. The manufactures carried on here are mainly in oil, cotton, paper. 



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154 


Cities of the World. 


soap and bricks, with a number of distilleries and corn mills. There is quite a large 
export trade carried on with the ports of Denmark and England. What there is 
lacking of scenery in the dull town is fully made up in the beautiful bay with its steep 
and rocky shores and forests of Norwegian pines. The brave and hardy Scandinavians 
that you see here now are not unworthy descendants of the heroic race of Northmen. 
Being somewhat out of the course of the great stream of national intercourse, they keep 
many of their ancient characteristics in simple living, energy and national pride. “ Al¬ 
though in Norway and Sweden there are many mines and mills, most of the people gain 
their living either out of the soil or the sea. The farmer in either country is a marvel 
of industry and thrift ; he would live upon what an American farmer wastes, and live 
more comfortably than most of our farming people do. The amount of labor done at 
the special dairy-farms, to which cattle are driven in Summer, generally by girls, would 
horrify a Western maiden ; but the Swedish and Norwegian girls thrive on it, enjoying 
rare good health, and the happiness that it brings.” But a very large proportion of the 
people follow the sea for a living. In 1880 more than a thousand Norwegian 
vessels entered the port of New York, and seven times as many were busy elsewhere. 
More than sixty thousand sailors man those vessels, and yet Norwegian sailors are nu¬ 
merous in the merchant navy of almost every other country. About a hundred and 
twenty thousand Norwegians are engaged in fisheries. As a race the people are pro¬ 
foundly religious and also intolerant of all but the Protestant faith, although the State 
allows freedom of worship. Drunkenness and profanity are rare everywhere in Scan¬ 
dinavia ; there seems to be no idle, dangerous class. At fairs and feasts there is a great 
deal of drinking, but it is only for a short time and the fun never culminates in fighting. 

They are all very hospitable, Mr. Du Chaillu tells us, and “ as in all other countries 
that keep primitive habits, hospitality in Scandinavia means eating and drinking. The 
poorest farmer or fisherman always has something to offer the visitor, and if the guest 
show a lack of appetite it is felt to be a slight.” One time to avoid giving any offense, 
Mr. Du Chaillu ate thirty times in two days, and drank thirty-four cups of coffee. An 
old farmer will fiddle all the evening while his family—children and servants included— 
dance. He is very fond of visiting ; and a wedding is sufficient excuse for a three days 
jollification. Altogether, with the extensive preparations and the festival itself, a 
Scandinavian wedding is a very important affair. At all times a great deal of care is 
given to dress and to the beautifying of homes ; and a pleasant part of it is that the 
people do not let their love of display overcome good taste. 


THE NETHERLANDS. 


A cross the waters from the lower part of the North Sea coast of England, lies the 
low, canal-cut country once called Holland; now the United Kingdom of the 
Netherlands. It is about the size of the State of Maryland, with four and a half times 
as many people living in it; and made up of many large towns in its various provinces. 
Most of the country in the western part, being below the water level, has been walled in 
by dunes, or long hills of sand banked up by wind and waves. Where these fail there 
are strong dykes built of stones brought from Norway, timber, turf and clay, which are 
carefully watched and kept in order. A large part of the four million of people of the 
Netherlands live in towns, of which Amsterdam^ the capital, is first, smaller in size but 
with about the same population as Baltimore ; that is between three and four hundred 
thousand. The “ Venice of the North,” it is called, but very inappropriately, for it 
lacks the color, the stateliness and every thing that distinguishes the “ Bride of the 
Adriatic ” from all other island-built cities of the world. 

The Zuider Zee is an arm of the German Ocean, or North Sea, about as large as the 
State of Rhode Island ; and near its southwestern corner, where the river Y, or Ij, is 
met by the Amstel, is the great, low-lying, half-moon shaped city, the town of Amstel’s 
dyke, or “Amstel dam,” as it is often called. The view of Amsterdam from the harbor is 
very fine ; walled in from the sea by dykes on one side, and on the other, surrounded by 
rich grassy meadows ; quaint and flat, it is skirted by the old ramparts leveled into 
broad, tree-lined promenades, and studded with fantastic gabled roofs, chimneys, 
wind-mills, turrets, church-towers and spires of all shapes and sizes. Canals and 
branches of the Zuider Zee, running in every direction, divide the city into about ninety 
islands, which are connected by nearly three hundred bridges, made of stone, iron, or wood, 
and high enough for vessels to pass under. The town is built over a peat bog, upon piles 
driven through forty or fifty feet of loose sand and mud into firm, solid, clay below. 
Vessels have to unload part of their cargo outside in the Zuider Zee, for it is neither safe 
nor easy to cross the shallows and bar at the mouth of the Y. 

At one of the entrances of the city stands the “Crier’s Tower,” which was built in 
1482, and called the Schreyerstoren, because it was always a scene of parting between 
friends and sailors leaving for all parts of the globe. 

Near where the river Amstel enters the city is a large exhibition building, which has 
also a fine collection of paintings and a beautiful garden. This “ Paleis voor Volksvlyt,” 


Cities of the World. 


156 

as the Dutch call it, is nearly four hundred and fifty feet long and three hundred feet 
broad, while its great dome towers upward two hundred feet. The Amstel flows 
almost through the center of the city, dividing the modern part on the west from 
the old town on its eastern banks. The old town was a fishing village six hundred 
years ago, and is made up of narrow and irregular streets. In the center reaching to 
the moat on the outskirts, is the chief park of Amsterdam,—the Plantation,—where 
there are many fine walks, the botanic and the zoological gardens. The only other 
recreation ground of Amsterdam is Vondel's Park, on the southern outskirts. In the 
modern part of the old Dutch capital the streets and squares are handsome and 
spacious. Some of the principal canals run in semi-circles, one within another, and are 
bordered with tree-lined avenues of handsome houses, their picturesque gables towara 
the street. It is said that there is not a straight building in the whole place ; “ they lean 
forward and lean backward ; they lean to the right and lean to the left ; ” all of which 
is caused by the sinking of the piles on which they are built. On the great public 
square called the Dam, near the center of the city, is the Palace. This royal 
residence is almost square, adorned with handsome stone carving and resting 
on many thousand piles. It is nearly three hundred feet long with a tur- 
reted cupola rising sixty-six feet above the main building, which is one hundred and six¬ 
teen feet high. The most beautiful room in the Palace is a great hall, nearly as long as 
the building, more than fifty feet broad and ninety high,—lined entirely with white 
Italian marble. Across the Dam is the Exchange or Beurs, an immense building, which 
is the front of a fine square, or quadrangle as architects say, in handsome Ionian style. 
The “ Niewe Kerk,” near the Palace, is where the Dutch kings are crowned. It was 
built in 1408, and is a very fine church, containing many monuments to celebrated 
Dutchmen, wonderful work in a carved pulpit, and bronze castings. The “ Oude Kerk,” 
or Old Church, which was built in the fourteenth century, has also some great monuments, 
beautiful stained glass windows and a fine organ. There are other churches of many 
religions in Amsterdam ; the synagogue of the Shepardin Jews is one of the finest in the 
world, but excepting the Moses and Aaron Church, and the new Lutheran meeting 
house, with its cupola of green copper, few are either handsome or interesting. The 
city has beside many galleries of pictures by the old Dutch masters, art schools, 
museums, and a great number of noble institutions for giving help or care to people that 
are sick and afflicted. The Society for the Public Welfare has branches in nearly every 
town and village in Holland. 

Amsterdam has a large share in almost all the industries of the Netherlands : she 
sends out by canal and railway in greatest quantities, cheese and butter, madder for 
medicine, dyes and paints, clover and rape, linseed oil and gin ; and makes soap, oil, 
glass, iron, dyes and chemicals, beside refining a vast amount of sugar, and employing 
many people in brewing, tanning leather, founding type and making tobacco and snuff ; 



AMSTERDAM 


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































158 


Cities of the World. 


while there is more diamond cutting done here than in any place in the world. Cen¬ 
turies ago Amsterdam was the center of the world’s banking business, and one of its 
greatest commercial ports. With the exception of Frankfort-on-the-Main, it now ranks 
as the richest city for its size in the world ; and its entire wealth has been earned by the 
greatest toil and perseverance in the face of every difficulty. Among the powerful 
banking firms of the world Hope & Co. stand next to the Rothschilds. Gem cutting has 
long been a specialty of the city ; the diamond mills as they are called are owned by the 
Jews, where there are nearly ten thousand Hebrews employed. 

The city has had to undergo many hard trials from jealous nations and home troubles 
fvhich have altered its condition very much. But the people are good, industrious and 
enterprising ; they have recovered a great deal by building railroads, a great ship canal 
across North Holland from Mars Diep, which, in addition to the new canal being opened 
to the North Sea, will probably bring back to Amsterdam much of its lost importance in 
trade and commerce. Its quays are once more being thronged, its streets are crowded, 
its shops full of men and women ; and its warehouses are active and busy. No man, 
woman or child seems ^o be idle, every body seems to live up to the unspoken creed of 
industry, perseverance and prosperity, although a great deal of time might be better 
used by employing modern labor-saving and time-saving inventions, 

Rotterdam, the second city of the Netherlands, is a little more than half as large as 
Amsterdam, Standing where the little Rotte river meets the Maas, about twenty miles 
from its mouth, the city is shaped like a triangle, apex pointing toward the north, and 
base stretching along the Maas in a fine set of quays called the Boompjes ; these are 
bordered with elms planted nearly three hundred years ago and faced by a fine row 
of houses. 

Rotterdam is divided into two parts by Hoog Street, on a dyke built to keep out the 
water when it rises. The section on the north side is Binnenstad ; and on the south, 
extending to the Maas, it is Buitenstad. This lower part of town is cut into many is¬ 
lands by “havens,” or broad canals, whose docks are faced on both sides by lofty houses 
shaded by rows of beautiful trees. There are seven of the largest canals, which are so 
deep that immense ships can go their full length ; two run from the Maas, up into the 
city, while five are parallel with the river. 

Beside the great ocean traffic carried on by Rotterdam with other countries, it is an 
important port for vessels bound to and from the Rhine provinces of Prussia, not only 
for its own trade, but as a stopping place for foreign vessels, as the Maas is the great 
highway from the open sea to the Rhine and the interior of Europe. 

Beside all this shipping business, which includes the country products, many manu¬ 
factured articles, live stock, great ship-yards and steamboat factories, Rotterdam makes 
articles of gold and silver, and the gin and liquors distilled here are shipped in great 
quantities by water or rail to all countries of the globe. The hall of the Rotterdam Ex- 



4 


ROTTERDAM 


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































i6o 


Cities of the World. 


change is, at three o’clock, crowded with merchants and visitors of many nations, Ger¬ 
mans, Flemings, French, Italians, Spaniards, Armenians, Greeks, Poles, Russians, Eng¬ 
lish and Americans; and all of these, speaking at times in their native tongue, get greatly 
excited over advancing or declining prices. In all this excitement you would almost 
forget that you were in the land of the quiet, unruffled Dutchman, who would scarcely 
be startled enough to look around if a pistol were shot off directly behind him. Nearly 
all the “ nice ” houses have little mirrors at each side of the windows, that reflect in 
opposite directions so that, without stopping their work—for it is almost a sin to be idle 
in Holland—the people in the house can see all that is passing outside without being 
seen themselves. 

The buildings of Rotterdam seem not to have been put up to be handsome and 
majestic, but serviceable ; a few, however, are both. There are churches, schools of 
all kinds, and institutes for the study of art, science, architecture, music, medicine, and 
many other things. There are some galleries, too ; but the great pictures and works of 
art—once the pride of the town—were burned about twenty years ago, and can never be 
replaced. The hospital in the Coolsingel is a very fine and perfectly arranged building. 
The great St. Lawrence Church, with its high towers and Gothic pillars, raised in the 
fifteenth century, has a splendid organ and several beautiful marble monuments in honor 
of distinguished men. On the open market-place there stands a bronze statue of 
Erasmus, and on the street that leads to the Breede Kerk the famous scholar’s birth¬ 
place is still pointed out. Rotterdam is now growing very fast. It is about the size of 
Riga in Russia, Hull in England, or Cleveland, Oiiio ; and has about a hundred and 
seventy-five thousand people living in it—more than twice as many as there were fifty 
years ago. 

Although Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, the Dutch Parliament meets 
at The Hague, and here also the king, his family, and the principal officers of the State 
live ; for this country has much the same form of government as Great Britain. It is ruled 
by a king or queen, according to the Constitution, and limited by a Parliament. The Hague 
is nearer the sea-coast than the other cities, and connected by railway with Amsterdam 
in the north-east and Rotterdam in the south-east. It is said to be one of the finest cities 
in Europe ; canals and shady avenues of linden-trees run in every direction, while beside 
stately houses, fine libraries, museums and churches there are grand parks and 
many palaces. One of these, the Mauritz Huis, has a splendid collection of 
pictures, including some of the most precious of the works of the old Dutch 
masters, and other interesting collections of various kinds. The Hague has 
twenty churches. The finest of all is the Great Church, built almost six 
hundred years ago. In its lofty six sided tower there is a chime of thirty-eight 
bells. Connected with the thrilling history of Holland and the Hague is the Gevangen- 
poort, or prison gate house, which has at different times confined many great men ; and 


Scheveninzen. 161 

the irregular drawbridge-guarded and moat-inclosed Binnenhof and the Buitenhof, a 
mass of public buildings, raised at different times and built by many different hands. The 
Hague is one of the best built and least Dutch towns in Holland. The French language 
is much spoken, and Parisian manners and customs, shops and society are very marked. 
Many of the streets are broad, brick-paved and bordered with trees. A number of 
tame storks are kept in a small house in the Fish Market and strut about there with a 
grand air of importance. The arms of the Hague are represented by a stork, and 
throughout the kingdom the bird is almost sacred ; it is never disturbed or injured ; to 
kill one is little less than a crime. Great pains are taken to induce them to build their 
nests in the roof of farm houses and on the edge of a gable or near the chimney of town 
dwellings. On the outskirts of the town is a noble forest, in the midst of which stands what 
the Dutch call 7 Huis in 7 Bosch, the House in the Wood. This is a royal palace, where 
some beautiful tapestry may be seen ; and many fresco works of the Antwerp painter, Peter 
Paul Rubens, who, with some of his greatest artist pupils, painted the ceiling and walls of 
several rooms in the House. The Hague is a fashionable town, supported chiefly by 
the court and nobility. It is also a busy manufacturing place, in all the trades belonging 
to book making, carriage building, cabinet work, rope spinning and dressing leather. 
Scheveningen, the old port and fishing village on the North Sea, a favorite bathing 
place, is reached from the Hague by a broad causeway, bordered with rows of trees. 
The suburbs of the town have many beautiful country seats. There is nothing a Dutch¬ 
man sets more value on than a country seat, which is generally a brightly painted 
wooden house—called a summer house or garden house—with carefully laid out gardens 
and a fish pond. Ryswick, where the treaty of peace was made in 1697, is not far off, 
and on the way to Rotterdam is the famous town of Delft, where the first European 
crockery table ware was made. 

The oldest city of the Netherlands is Utrecht, which was built by the Romans and 
is now about the size of Richmond, Virginia, with over seventy thousand people. 
It lies about twenty-five miles south-east of Amsterdam, surrounded by a beautiful and 
cultivated country, of woods, hills, meadows and orchards, through which railways run 
in many directions from the city, while the Old Rhine and River Vecht connect it with 
other cities and provinces of the continent. Thus favorably situated for trade, Utrecht 
plays an important part in the Dutch commerce, especially with grain, cattle, and its 
manufactures, which are principally woolens, plush called “ Utrecht velvet,” carpets, 
furniture, baskets, tin, copper and silver work, sawing wood, rope-making, iron founding 
and book printing ; besides making salt, and large quantities of tobacco and cigars, 
which last are the leading industries of the place. 

Here, also, good people have built homes and hospitals for those who are not able to 
take care of themselves. The handsome houses of many noble Dutch families stand in 
Utrecht, and there are besides, a high military court, the Mint and other important 


:62 


Cities of the World. 


national institutions. The “ Pope’s House,” built by Adrian VI., who was born in 
Utrecht in 1459, is the building used for government offices. The “ Domkerk ” is a fine 
old cathedral, consecrated to St. Martin about the year 720. The body of the building 
was destroyed by a hurricane about two hundred and fifty years ago, and is now a ruin, 
leaving the great tower, which is over three hundred feet high, standing alone. 

Utrecht is famous in history as the place where the union of the northern provinces 
called “the Netherlands’' was formed in 1579; and in this place the great peace 
treaty of 1713 was signed by ambassadors from nearly every country of Europe. It has 
always been noted for education. The grand old University was founded here in 1636, 
and there are also many fine common schools, special academies and societies for train¬ 
ing teachers, military surgeons, musicians and students in a great many branches of 
learning, especially science. The ancient walls which used to surround the city have 
been leveled and made into beautiful tree-planted walks and carriage ways. 

The most famous educational town of Holland is Leyden, of a little more than forty- 
two thousand people, and about the size of Wilmington, Delaware. 

It is low and flat, with many canals, broad streets, and handsome squares. Studded 
with windmills it stands amid beautiful meadows on the bank of the Old Rhine. 

William of Orange founded the University, whither students from all parts of Eu¬ 
rope have come for more than three hundred years, calling it the “ Athens of the West.” 
Here the great chemist, Cuneus, discovered how to gather electricity in what is called 
the Leyden jar. The Pilgrims from England lived in this old town for ten years before 
they came to America. 

Haarlem, directly west of Amsterdam, three miles from the sea, is a town noted for 
cleanliness, even in the clean country of Holland. It is about the size of Utica, New 
York, the home of more than forty-three thousand people. In the nursery gardens on 
the outskirts, large quantities of tulip and hyacinth bulbs are raised, which by railway 
and canal are shipped to all parts of Europe, along with a great deal of woven goods 
made in the town. St. Bavo’s Kerk, built in the fifteenth century, is the finest of Haar¬ 
lem’s thirteen churches, and the largest in the Netherlands. It has a lofty tower, and 
one of the most immense organs in the world. From the roof of this cathedral hang 
quaint little ships, under full sail, models of old Dutch galleons, placed there as offer¬ 
ings by sailors starting on long voyages. In the square before the church is a marble 
statue of Laurenz Coster, the inventor of printing, the Dutch say. The Museum has a 
splendid collection of paintings, visited by the greatest artists in the world ; and in the 
Town Hall, long ago the residence of the Counts of Holland, are some fine carvings. 
These, with the palace of the States-General and many of the educational and charitable 
buildings, are well worth seeing. The beautiful pleasure-grounds near the city are 
known as the Woods of Haarlem. In the sixteenth century the overflowing of the sea 
made a great lake fourteen miles long and ten broad, between this town and Amster- 


I 



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STREET SCENE, HOLLAND. 


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































164 


Cities of the World. 


dam. After twelve years’ labor with steam pumps, the Dutch succeeded in draining 
this off, and in 1850 the work was done, and the bottom of Haarlem Lake is now a 
country of rich farms and the home of about ten thousand people. 

Haarlem is noted in history for its heroic defense against the Spaniards in the seven- 
months siege of 1572, when even the women formed a company of three hundred sol¬ 
diers. But it was all in vain. The town had to surrender after the last mouthful of 
food was gone, and the faithless Spaniards broke their promise and put the people to^ 
death. 

In Holland, winter is perhaps the most welcome of all seasons. Directly the ice 
bears there is an army of skaters and sledgers appears ; visits are made and distances- 
traveled over canal and river, which can not be done in Summer ; few American boys 
and girls know any thing of such ice sports and winter fun as are then abroad ; the 
Dutch do not go round and round a lake, or up and down certain stretches of a stream,, 
but make up parties and pay visits to some neighboring towns or villages. The bracing 
air of a bright Winter morning rosies the faces of many a gay little Dutch company out 
for the day. After a severe frost some of the rivers or large canals flowing through the 
cities, are a perfect show, like a great fancy fair, with thousands of skaters in their Dutch 
costumes, gliding in and out, among sledges, ice-boats, stalls and booths. When all the 
water-ways about a city are frozen the trek-schuit—or drag-boat—traffic gives way to 
sledges, large and small. “ Near dwelling houses are seen little box-sledges for the chil¬ 
dren. These are precisely the same as the seventeenth century contrivances ; the child 
sits with just room for its feet, and, with stick in each hand, pushes astern and propels 
itself ahead. Some of the sledges for grown up folks are of many different shapes, some 
of them are gorgeously fitted up with most picturesque gear, harness and trappings. 
They are generally of the swan-like shape, the ‘ sleighers ’ sitting in the body, the driver 
perched at the back, as on the tail, the sweeping-irons following the curve of the swan’s 
neck; over these run the reins.” One horse is all that is usually driven before a sledge ; 
but a particularly sumptuous equipage, requiring more would have them in tandem. 


BELGIUM. 



T he country of the Belgians is almost the size of the State of Maryland, and, be¬ 
tween Holland and France, occupies a gradual slope from the hilly districts of north¬ 
ern Germany to the level shore of the North Sea. It is free and independent, surrounded 
by some unloving and mighty neighbors. The nation is made up of both Keltic and 
Teutonic people ; more than half speak the Flemish tongue, but the language of the 
Court and nearly all the people of the high class is French. According to the size of the 


country there are more people in Belgium than any where in the world, excepting the 
island of Malta. 

Brussels, the capital, stands not far from the center of the Belgian territory, in 
the midst of a beautiful and fertile country ; it is picturesquely built on the top and 
sides of a hill, which slopes down to the Senne, at about fifty miles from the sea. Around 
the original town there are extensive new districts ; but the old city is the most import¬ 
ant. It is pentagon-shape, with a labyrinth of short, straight or curved street.s, cut 
through here and there by a long avenue or irregular square, and bounded by boulevards 






i66 


Cities of the World. 


which occupy the site of the old fortifications. On fine summer evenings the northern 
and eastern sections of the boulevards are thronged with carriages, riders, and walkers, 
who make a gay and animated stream, which under the grand old trees on the south-east, 
usually flows into the Avenue Louise on its way to the Bois de la Cambre. This is a 
beautiful park which is the Bois de Bologne of “ Little Paris,” as Brussels is often called. 
The Cambre is one-fifth the size of Bologne, as Brussels has a little more than one-fifth 
as many people as Paris ; but beyond lies the Forest of Soigne, which is much grander 
and more extensive than any suburban wood of the French capital, even Fontainebleau. 
In many respects Brussels suffers by comparison with other great cities ; the Senne is a 
wretched little stream ; but this is now arched over, and flows unseen beneath a long 
line of boulevards above it, running the longest way through almost the center of the 
inner city. The main part of the city is within the five-sided figure anciently described 
by the ramparts ; beyond there are residences, broad and regular streets with many tree- 
planted squares, and notable buildings ; but the center of life is within the lines. The 
pentagon is made up of two parts, each with characteristics of its own. The New Town„ 
or upper part, occupying the south-east side, is dry, healthy, and contains straighter and 
broader streets than the Old Town, with the great boulevards and a number of sump¬ 
tuous houses and private offices, foreign ministries, and extensive hotels. There are 
innumerable fountains, some of which are handsomely ornamented with sculptures in 
stone and bronze. The streets are macadamized ; but the most of them are causewayed ; 
with sidewalks or trottoirs —the language of Brussels is French—either flagged or 
paved with flint-stones. Some of the streets are remarkably handsome, with shops 
and cafes much like those of Paris. Many of the squares are used as market-places. 
Adjoining the boulevard that separates the New Town from the aristocratic eastern 
suburb called the Quarter Leopold, is the Public Park. This fashionable summer resort 
is beautifully laid out with walks, along which you come upon groups of sculpture every 
little way, beneath the shady trees on the soft turf that is kept fresh and green. At 
the northern end almost the entire width of the Park is overlooked by the National 
Palace, where the Belgian Senate and the Chamber of Deputies hold their sittings ; at 
the end stands the Palace of the King, or Palais Royal, a handsome group of buildings 
with beautiful apartments and a number of ancient and modern pictures. The Rue 
Royale bounds the Park on the west, running along the margin of the height upon which 
the upper town stands. The traffic in this or any of the adjacent streets is not important, 
although there have been some attractive new shops opened here lately. The row of stately 
houses facing the Park is often broken by small terraces, over which you get glimpses of the 
lower town. But a better view is to be had from the beautiful Gothic cathedral of St. 
Gudule and St. Michel, a little beyond. This is one of the most imposing buildings in 
the capital; being surrounded by a boulevard and large open place, its rich walls, 
towers and chapels are open to the view. The paintings, stained glass, and wood 


Brussels. 


i6 


/ 



carvings are very fine. The tower commands a beautiful view of the town as it descends 
rather abruptly toward the boulevards over the river. The Old Town is the mosc 
ancient and the most interesting quarter of Brussels ; the canals are many ; the streets 
are mostly narrow and somber, overhung with medieval houses that tell of ancient char¬ 
acteristics and early glory ; the whole is now devoted to industry and commerce ; the 
latter is not very large, but 
the manufactures of lace, 
furniture, bronzes, carriages, 
and leather articles are very 
important. The principal 
streets and the great streams 
of people always tend to¬ 
ward a common center in 
the very midst of the old 
town. It is the Grande 
Place, or market place, the 
liveliest and most crowded 
place in all the city ; around 
it are grand old buildings 
of the Middle Ages, and 
over it hover associations of 
the most important events 
in Brussels history. 

The florid, antique houses 
date from the Spanish pos¬ 
session ; and the majestic 
Hotel de Ville, “ with daring 
irregularity and inexhaustible 
combination of shapes and 
colors,” is one of the noblest 
and most beautiful buildings 
to be found in the kingdom. 

The ornamented and irregu- home work, Belgium. 

lar quadrangle, with ancient court inclosed, and graceful tower, three hundred 
and seventy feet high, was built in the first half of 1400 ; the elaborate niches 
are filled with statuettes, and on the open .spire a gilded figure of the Archangel Michael 
tells all the town which way the wind blows. The decorations of the interior are so beau¬ 
tiful and so full of historical interest that the old Town Hall is one of the chief museums 
in the city. There are other exhibitions also that attract many tourists to Brussels. The 











i68 


Cities of the World. 


Royal Belgian Museum is some distance to the south-west of the cathedral, and contains 
a valuable gallery of paintings, which has no equal in the country ; adjoining are the 
Royal Library and the Palace of Fine Arts, and near by several other sumptuous palaces 
extending to the Palais Royal; many stand on the Rue de Regence, which leads to the 
pride of the city, the great and grand Palace of Justice, which was opened in 1883, when tlie 
jubilee over Belgium as a separate kingdom was held. It is the largest architectural work 
of the nineteenth century, being considerably larger on the ground than St. Peter’s at 
Rome; it cost ten millions of dollars. The Royal Palace of Justice is near the Royal 
Museum. At the point of the pentagon, the old Porte de Hall marks the extremity of 
the inner town. This ancient-looking prison-house was built in 1381 ; “ it was the Bas- 
tile of Alva during the Belgian Reign of Terror ; ” but its vaulted chambers and project¬ 
ing tower are now peacefully employed as a museum of weapons and antiquities. 

The stretch of country called Flanders occupies nearly the whole of Belgium between 
Brussels and the coast ; it is like one vast garden of naturally rich and fertile soiljhat has 
been under wise and careful tillage for centuries. There are so many people that the land 
has become cut up into many small portions,which,limited as they are, support an extremely 
prosperous race of small peasant farmers and villagers, the villages often numbering as 
many as eight thousand souls, who are busily engaged in almost every handicraft. “ The 
rich and picturesque dress of the people of Flanders is of medieval fashion ; the women, 
wearing long dark-hooded mantles, look something like nuns, except that the attire is 
more comfortable and comely, and is usually made siill more pleasing to see by valuable 
ear-rings and brooches set with genuine brilliants, old family heirlooms that tell the story 
of long generations of uninterrupted prosperity.” The principal outlet for products of 
Flanders and all other parts of Belgium, as well as some of Germany, is Antwerp. This 
is a great and a growing city now ; but the height of its power and glory was in the 
Middle Ages, especially after Columbus’s discovery of America, and the finding of a pas¬ 
sage through Europe to India. The centuries between then and now brought great 
changes to the great city ; but in these latter days it has once more, and this time peace¬ 
fully, advanced to prosperity. To-day it is one of the greatest European seaports, with a 
population of two hundred thousand, and a commerce up and down the river Escheldt 
that has increased faster since 1837 than that of any other place in Europe. It is now 
said to be almost equal to Hamburg and Marseilles. The “ lazy Schelde ” is a third of a 
mile broad at the city and very deep ; on its quiet surface there are always many vessels 
tugging at anchor or lining the docks, while hundreds, even thousands of workmen are 
busily loading and unloading many kinds of merchandise. There are steamers large and 
small, and sailing vessels of all descriptions here—ships, barks, and schooners, of 
American and English rig, or the heavier Dutch craft ; vessels from further north, riding 
the waves beside the lateen-sail boats of the south and east, all mingled in a fantastic 
group, flying the colors of many nations. The country should ever be indebted to 



rOWN HALL, BRUSSELS 


























































































































































































































































































































































































170 


Cities of the World. 


Napoleon for the acres of majestic ports and miles of noble docks which make up and 
line this harbor ; and among all the ports to which the great transatlantic liners enter, 
they rarely, if ever, rest by finer or busier quays than those of Antwerp. On one of these 
quays stands the sculptured Gate of the Escaut (another name for the Schelde), 
which was designed by Peter Paul Rubens. The docks lie at the northern end of the 
town, and are quite distinct from the quays. Their two hundred and fifty acres are 
usually filled with large steamers and merchantmen, receiving or discharging cargoes by 
the means of gigantic and noiseless hydraulic cranes, which are worked by underground 
water power. Immense bales and boxes of goods are carried by the cranes directly from 
the vessels to the railway trucks, of which about twenty-five hundred leave Antwerp 
every day for different parts of Europe. Around the docks stand large warehouses, with 
powerful steam elevators for raising merchandise to the lofty stores. The largest of these 
buildings is the Entrepdt Royal j but the most interesting is the Maison Hansiatique, or 
Hanseatic House, a massive and venerable magazine, almost three hundred and fifty 
years old. This was a great warehouse of the Hanse-cities in the days of the Hanseatic 
League, when that famous trade union was mistress of nearly all the commerce of 
Europe. It bears even now the armorial bearings of the three cities of the League, 
with the inscription in Latin : “ The warehouse of the German Hanse, protected by the 
Holy Roman Empire.” In 1863 the Hanseatic towns ceded it to Belgium for all river 
dues that could be demanded from their vessels. The best harbor view is from the 
Vlaanisch Hoofd or Tete de Flandre, a fortress on the left bank of the river, opposite the 
Gate of the Escaut, in the center of the river front. Along the river lies the old town, 
whose ancient double ramparts you can trace in the two parallel sets of boulevards or 
avenues that form a regular and gentle curve above the river ; beyond lies the new city, 
covering about six times as much territory, and with it forming almost a perfect half- 
round on the right bank of the stream. Always a famous citadel, Antwerp has a fine 
new set of fortifications now, with massive bastioned walls, detached forts, and great 
moats, making a grand semi-circular sweep all the way around the land sides of the 
city. It is the principal arsenal of the kingdom, and, in case of need, will be the 
rendezvous of the Belgian army. It would take fully a hundred and seventy thousand 
enemies to conquer it under siege, and the inhabitants could live for a year cut off 
from outside supplies. 

Antwerp is the most interesting town in Belgium, and, as the people are nearly all 
Flemish^ it is much like a Dutch, or a German city, but with one great difference ; no 
one would accuse Antwerp of the Dutch cleanliness. In place of the high but narrow 
houses, common in the Netherlandish cities, there are here older and often more preten¬ 
tious structures ; the streets and sidewalks are built with the smooth Belgian pave¬ 
ment, and between rows of costly modern buildings there are many lines of American 
horse-cars. No Dutch or German galleries have any Flemish pictures to compare with 









































































































































172 


Cities of the World. 


Antwerp’s wonderful works of Peter Paul Rubens, which, alone, draw hundreds of 
people every year. Every other attraction in the city is second to the majestic old 
cathedral where these gems of art are kept. “ The glory of the Cathedral of Antwerp 
is in the great paintings which it enshrines.” There are three in all, “ The Assumption,” 
and two others—still greater—representing the Saviour’s “ Descent from the Cross,” and 
the ” Elevation of the Cross.” A celebrated writer says. These are paintings whose 
treatment, like their subject, is divine, and although the “ Descent ” is generally thought to 
be Rubens’s masterpiece, they are worthy of each other. “ In the Elevation of the Cross 
our Saviour has been nailed to the fatal tree, which the Roman soldiers are raising to 
plant in the earth. The form is that of a living man. The hands and feet are stream¬ 
ing with blood, and the body drops, as it hangs, with all its weight on the nails. But the 
look is one of life and not of death. The face has an expression of suffering, yet not of 
mere physical pain. The agony is more than human ; as the eyes are turned upward, 
there is more than mortal majesty in the look,—it is the dying God. In the Descent 
from the Cross, the struggle is over; there is death in every feature, in the face, pale 
and bloodless, in the limbs that hang motionless, in the whole body as it sinks into the 
arms of the faithful attendants. If Rubens had never painted but these two pictures, 
he would deserve to be ranked as one of the world’s great masters.” They dignify the 
plain whitewashed interior of the cathedral; they honor the city in which they rest ; 
and even make the country famous as the land where the great Rubens lived, worked, 
and died, though he was born in Cologne. “ Out of meanness and dirt, the cathedral lifts 
its head toward heaven.” There is a view from the single finished tower, that costs about 
fifteen cents and a steady mount of six hundred and twenty-five stone steps to obtain it, 
but repays you with compound interest. “ The eye ranges over almost the whole of 
Belgium, a vast plain dotted with cities and villages.” In this lofty tower of open 
arches, which Napoleon said looked as if made of Mechlin lace, there hangs a chime of 
bells which ring out some soft, delicious melody every quarter hour, like heavenly music 
from the clouds. The roof below is supported by a hundred and twenty-five pillars, and 
beneath it are six aisles. There is no other church in Europe with so many. The 
church was founded in the Middle Ages, is of the handsome Gothic style, in the form of 
a cross, five hundred feet long, two hundred and fifty feet broad. There are only a few 
cathedrals more grand than this in the world ; but the shops that hedge it in, and back 
up against its walls, shamefully cover and mar its beauty. It stands adjoining 
the Place Verte. which is in the very heart of the old town, and the meeting place of 
an innumerable number of streets, among which are about half a dozen of the busiest 
and most important in Antwerp. Near the principal portal is the Well, the famous old 
fountain with its graceful iron-work canopy of Quinten Massys, “at one time a black¬ 
smith, afterward a famous painter,” as the inscription on his tombstone reads. Upon 
the short and ancient streets, running in every direction, from here toward the river and 



I'HE BELFRY, BRUGES 





























































































































































































































174 


Cities of the World. 

toward the boulevards, there stand most of the remaining celebrated buildings of Ant¬ 
werp. The Hotel de Ville in the Grand’ Place, close by the river, is imposingly built in 
stories of columns and arcades and circular arched windows ; it is almost bewildering 
inside with its colored Belgian marbles, its wood carvings, scenes in ancient Antwerp, 
and other paintings. The other buildings aroUnd the Grand’ Place, are mainly Guild 
houses or trades halls, which are peculiar to Belgian cities, and especially in Antwerp, 
Ghent, and Brussels, are among the most notable sights. They are grandly proportioned 
and richly decorated halls, once belonging to the proud guildes, or trade societies ; 
many of the buildings are still known by their old names, as the Guild Hall of the 
Archers, Hall of the Coopers, House of the Sailors, and the Hall of the Carpenters, all 
of which are at least two hundred years old, and many are nearly twice that age. With 
museums and fine public institutions, Antwerp is well supplied, and among the best 
streets running through the center of the old town toward the new, one of the most 
notable is the broad and handsome sweep of the Longue Rue Neuve, where the gay 
shops are richly stored and well patronized ; almost parallel with it is the Place de 
Meir, a broad avenue, formed by arching over a canal ; it is built up with handsome 
new houses, but also containing the Royal Palace, Rubens’s house and a few other par¬ 
ticularly fine old mansions. The inner set of parallel boulevards is very wide ; and 
shaded with rows of trees near the center of the city. Bordering on one of the outer 
“rings ’’ is the park, which is shaped like a perfect triangle and occupies the site of an 
old lunette, with the moats made into a large and ornamental sheet of water. There is 
a charming view from the high chain bridge crossing this lake. To the west and the 
north-west is the old town, skirting the river, with all the most quaint as well as many of 
the most imposing buildings—churches, museums, hospitals, and barracks, among less 
pretentious houses. On the north these old and the newer quarters are skirted by the 
great inclosed docks ; on the south-west are large schools and exhibition buildings, with 
many of the military institutions, while on the south of the triangle-shaped park lies the 
most openly built part of the city, with several long, fine avenues, few of which run 
regularly, but meet in crescents, acute angles, obtuse angles and every shape except in 
even right angles. The east and north-east quarters are also occupied by many resi¬ 
dences, by the Zoological Gardens and churches ; the districts beyond the fortifications 
are laid out in avenues and streets, more sparsely settled. There are a few other parks, 
but the Belgian cities are not so richly supplied with pleasure grounds as Germany, 
nor even as well as France, although the people—much like the French in many 
things—are very fond of out-door life and use what parks they have to the best 
advantage. 

Beside these two leading cities of the “ land of belfries, town halls, stained glass 
and carved pulpits,’’ there are several others belonging to the world’s list of great 
cities. 



TOWN HALL, YPIES 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































176 


Cities of the World. 


Ghent was the most populous city of Europe in the Middle Ages, and has now 
about a hundred and thirty-five thousand people, who are chiefly occupied in the great 
cotton-spinning factories, the largest and finest in the kingdom, Liege, with a hundred 
and twenty-six thousand people, is also feeling a return of bygone prosperity, and is now 
the center of the Belgian iron industry ; Bruges (forty-five thousand people) is a town 
“whose splendid garments are too large for its-shrunken body,” and can only tell in 
a mute way of past magnificence ; Mechlin, or Malines, with about the same popula¬ 
tion, famous for lace, is now the railroad center of Belgium ; Louvain, too, of thirty-six 
thousand people, is celebrated for having had the greatest university in Europe in the 
sixteenth century. 



THE PIERS AT OSTEND. 













SWITZERLAND. 



T his small country of Europe is about half the size of the state of Indiana with a 
third more people. It is a sturdy, independent little republic, occupying the highest 
land of Europe, grandly protected by the Juras and the Alps from the larger and 
more powerful nations of Germany on the north, Austria on the east, France on the west 
and Italy on the south. The southern 
portion of the country is the most beautiful 
and mountainous district in the world ; 
there is a broad and lovely plain above, 
extending to the Juras in what are called 
the Swiss Lowlands. Here lie the prin¬ 
cipal cities. There are not many, and 
although they are all more or less famous, 
none rank among the first of the world’s 
great cities. The largest town in Switzer¬ 
land is Geneva. It stands on both sides 
of the southern end of Lake Leman, where 
it narrows to a point and ends as it began 
in the river Rhone. A breakwater forms a 
safe harbor for the many steamboats run¬ 
ning between this and various other im¬ 
portant places on the lake. The swift 
rushing Rhone flows through the city in 
two branches forming two islands, which 
with the two large divisions also are con¬ 
nected by several wooden bridges and a 
very fine stone bridge. One of these 
islands is a small public pleasure ground, 
where there is a bronze statue of Jean 
Jacques Rousseau, “who first made Leman 
and the Rhone beautiful in literature, and 
so in the eyes of the world.” The island the jungfrau from Interlaken, 
is named after the great Genevese author ; in the alps. 

it is described as “ just large enough to hold the statue and two or three 
Lombardy poplars, and to form in its lee an inclosure for a large and quar- 




178 


Cities of the World. 


relsome colony of swans.” On the second island stand “tall old-fashioned 
houses of workmen and washerwomen, that form a part of the St. Gervais 
quarter of the city, or the Geneva of the right shore.” This is an antique 
and picturesque quarter backed by a range of snow-capped mountains, with Mont Blanc 
looming up still higher forty miles away in a straight line. The washerwomen are an 
odd sight. “ They pound and rinse their clothes in plain view of all comers every week¬ 
day in the year in the covered boats anchored by the banks of the Rhone ; the water 



THE LAKE AND CITY OF GENEVA. 


rushes past them swift and pure ; behind them are the old Savoyard houses, almost pre¬ 
historic in their quaintness. The old town occupies but a small part of the present city, 
with its “ tall, queer houses, standing thick and dingy, one looking over the others’ 
shoulders as they crowd upon the hillside. The chimney pots reach out over the tiles 
in all sorts of angles and tilting with the sky as you look up, and mark the towers of the 
old cathedral of St. Peter, and the Hotel de Ville, rising from their midst.” The Cathe¬ 
dral was raised in 1124, and around it centered the medieval history of Geneva—there 













Geneva. 



179 

the words of the wonderful invalid John Calvin rung out for the first time and spread 
abroad till now they guide the religious opinions of fifty millions of people. 

“ 'I'he building inside or out is not imposing ; the classic facade dates only from the 
eighteenth century, for the statues and many other beauties were swept away by the 
reformers” ; but within it is very much as Calvin left it, over three hundred years ago. 
“ The canopy of the pulpit from which he preached, and the chair in which he sat when 
others preached, the front seats with the names of the old pastors and the other seats 
bearing the names of the old Genevese families, all are there as when the city was Cal- 
vanistic Rome, the school and printing press of Protestant Europe, the refuge of 
reformers, a center of energy and activity in the making and spreading abroad of Bibles 
or martyrs that has probably never been equaled in the history of the world. The cathe- 


MEMORIAL HALL OF THE REFORMATION, GENEVA. 

dral has been the forum—or center of city life—as well as the sanctuary of Geneva ; 
there year after year the citizens have assembled in general council, elected their magis¬ 
trates and voted their laws.” Next to this in historical importance, and surpassing it in 
architecture is the Hotel de Ville with its quaint squat tower, about which zigzags a 
wide paved carriageway up to the different stories of the building ” containing the 
various chambers used as the seat of the cantonal government, which in Switzerland 
corresponds to our state legislatures, for the management of the Swiss cantons is 
much like our states government. Here on certain days of the week the magistrate 
performs the civil marriage, which must legalize all unions. In front of the 
building, the remains of the old ramparts form a handsome terrace, from which there is a 


















i8o 


Cities of the World. 


fine view of the Plainpalais and the valley of the Rhone and Arve. Across the street 
from the Hotel de Ville is an arsenal, or rather a museum of old arms and armor, where 
some of the spikes, petards, and scaling ladders captured at the famous Escalade—the last 
struggle of Geneva with the dukes of Savoy, in 1602—are shown. A fountain in memory of 
this victorious event stands at the bottom of the crooked street leading from the Hotel de 
Ville to the Rhone. It is the street in which Rousseau was born and is called the 
Grande Rue. During the past thirty or forty years Geneva has been altered and 
improved very much. The ancient ramparts have been taken down, the narrow, close 
streets widened and well-paved, and new and spacious quays have been built along the 
lake and river. One of the favorite resorts is the English Garden, a promenade laid out 
along part of the new quay on the left side of the river. In the plain into which the 
new city is spreading a botanic garden has been laid out, and the Musee Rath, or Rath 
Museum, and other fine looking buildings for the use of science and art have been 
raised. 

The fame of Geneva’s watch-makers is world-wide. Above the washerwomen’s sheds 
there is a square tower, known as the Tower of Caesar. It stands almost in the center of 
the city and after all its thrilling history is now the home of a peaceful watch-maker> 
and serves with its three dial faces standing in a row and looking tovvard the water, to 
tell at once the time of Paris, Geneva, and Bern. On all sides, especially toward St. 
Gervais, it looks down on the homes of a great hidden army of watch-makers. Out of 
the city’s population of about seventy thousand there are about five thousand men—over 
one third of the male inhabitants—constantly engaged in making watches, while two or 
three thousand more are employed in making musical boxes. The remainder are mostly 
jewelry workers. These three industries are the chief occupations of the people. 

It is supposed that about one hundred and fifty thousand watches are made in 
Geneva every year. The work is separated into two departments, the watch-makers 
and the case-makers. There are no very large factories, and all the men usually 
work at home. Where a quaint old house reaches out for light high above the dinginess 
of its narrow court you may be sure that it contains the work room of some watch-maker, 
or engraver, some case-maker or enameler. Geneva is a remarkably well-governed 
place ; you only see policemen when they are needed ; every one who takes up his 
home here can share in the freedom, and, whether he is liked or not, he is undisturbed 
so long as he is quiet. There are always many exiles in Geneva,—aliens for right or for 
wrong,—but there are no foreign beggars here, or any other kind in fact, for beggars are 
not allowed. Altogether this little city, which has ever stood well in the eyes of the 
world, “ was never more prosperous nor more deserving of her position of honor than at 
present.” 

There is one set of inhabitants that always have a great many visitors ; they are the 
eagles of Geneva. There are six of the great birds kept in a large double cage, par- 



STREET SCENE, BERN 







































































































































































































i 82 


Cities of the World. 


tially overhanging the river. They are the property of the city, and like the bears of 
Bern, are kept at the public expense. The eagles occupy, like Bern’s bears, a pictorial 
position in the shield of Geneva, and if one dies another is procured to take its 
place. 

The second town and the wealthiest of the country, is the trading city of Basel, or 
Bale. The entire place, including great Bale on the south side of the Rhine, and little 
Bale on the north bank, has only about sixty thousand people now, though in the middle 
ages it was very large and important. You would not think as you pass through its clean 
streets and among its well built houses that it is the richest city of this thriving republic ; 
but if you were a close observer you would soon recognize its prosperity, when you 
visited the fine schools, hospitals and places provided for orphans, and unfortunate people 
who are deaf, dumb and variously afflicted. For the use of the city and the celebrated 
university, there are some unusally good museums with coin collections, natural history 
cabinets, libraries, picture galleries and an attractive botanic garden. The university 
was a very important one during the Reformation. Erasmus and many other great 
scholars taught within its walls. Switzerland leads the world in its interest and atten¬ 
tion to education. One-fifth of all the money the government spends is on education 
and religion. An Austrian who is an authority, says : twenty per cent of the taxes 
paid by the Swiss are used to improve the education, morals and religious sentiments of 
the population. Switzerland has one university for every four hundred thousand inhabi¬ 
tants ; all other European countries are in this far behind the little highland republic, 
which uses nearly fourteen per cent of its whole income to educate and train its young 
people, with splendid elementary and high schools, gymnasia and academies, universities 
and polytechnic institutes, all modeled upon the best of systems. 

The capital of Switzerland is Bern, the third city, with about forty-five thousand 
people. It stands on a lofty sand-stone promontory seventeen hundred feet above the 
sea. The winding Aar river surrounds it on three sides, and is crossed by two 
stone bridges, one of which is very handsome and adds a great deal to the natural 
beauties of the city. On the fourth side the old fortifications have been made into pub¬ 
lic walks. From a distance Bern is a fine, imposing looking city, and on nearer view is 
equally pleasing, with its quaint streets and handsome houses. These are massive free¬ 
stone structures and in some places built above arcades, in which the shops of the city 
are situated, lining the covered walks on both sides of the streets with their odd signs 
and showy windows. Whichever way one walks he is almost sure to find it lead to some 
pleasant public promenade, in full view of the snowy Alpine peaks, and even within the ’ 
town the streets are pleasantly adorned with fountains and have fresh rills of water flow¬ 
ing through them. The Gothic cathedral, over four hundred years old, and several other 
buildings in Bern are of special interest ; the new Federal Council Hall is a magnificent 
structure, and the mint, the hospital, the university, libraries and museums are all a 


Bern, 


■83 


credit to the capital. A favorite walk toward evening or on Sunday afternoon is to the 
bear pit, where these animals are kept and cared for at the public expense, after a custom 
that is centuries old. It is believed that the town was once the native home of bears, 
from which it was named Bern, meaning bear ; many traditions are told about them ; 
and throughout the place the figure of a bear is a familiar ornament. There are not 
large manufacturing industries at Bern ; gunpowder, firearms, leather, straw hats and 
paper are chiefly the articles made here ; while considerable outside trade is also carried 
on. The living is cheap, for the corporate property is so large that all the city expenses 
are paid from its income, and all the citizens are provided with fuel gratis and receive 
an annual distribution from the surplus. 

There is no coal to be had in Switzerland ; the forests that cover one-sixth of the 
whole country are of great importance. Wood cutting is one of the chief employments 
of the people, and some of the finest of wood work and wood carving is done there ; the 
mountain pastures and the meadows cover two-fifths of the land, and feed the herds 
and flocks, while silks and cotton are raised and manufactured in considerable quantities. 
Although Switzerland is inland its commerce, carried on across the lakes and up the great 
rivers, in proportion to the population, has long exceeded that of any other country on 
the continent. It sends out wood and charcoal, cattle, tallow, cheese and butter, silks, 
cottons, watches and jewelry, in exchange for metals used in making jewelry and watches, 
corn, salt, fruits and products that this mountainous country can not grow. There are 
excellent roads from one part of the republic to another, and approved modern steam¬ 
boats ply from place to place across the lakes. The steep mountains have been 
tunneled and the plains overspread from one end to the other with railways that make 
a complete network of communication closely connecting the numerous small towns and 
villages in all parts of the country. 


IRELAND. 


Among Americans the most widely known place in Ireland is the bold cliff-guarded 
harbor of Queenstown. It is not unlike the New York harbor, with Roche’s Point 
instead of the Narrows, and the circular bay beyond with its islands and hilly shores. 
It has anchorage for thousands of ships and is deep enough to admit the largest at any 



QUEENSTOWN, 

tide. “ At the head of the bay, in an almost straight line from the Point, is the town of 
square, white houses, built in terraces, on a wooded and heathery bluff.” It is a pretty 
sight of green and white, almost like some tropical scene, when the sun is shining. “ At 
the foot of the cliff and along the quays is a street of shops and taverns ; the higher 
terraces are principally dwellings, and the higher they are the better is the class to which 








Ouee7tsiown, 


185 

they belong ; the top ridge of all is crowned by a few beautiful palace-like villas. The 
town itself is a dull place, its use being very largely as a touching place for transatlantic 
steamers.” All the mail steamers between New York, Boston, and Philadelphia and 
Liverpool call at it whichever way they are bound, to receive and deliver mails ; vessels 
stop long enough for a great deal of business to be done by telegraph and writing, or a 
short trip to the lakes of Killarney ; it is an important emigrant station and landing 
place for tourists bound for the North. There are so many Americans in the town that 



LAKES OF KILLARNEY. 


it seems more a part of the United States than of Great Britain. The name of Queens¬ 
town was given in honor of the queen, when her majesty visited the port in 1850. Before 
this it was called the Cove of Cork, being situated but a short distance above the city of 
Cork. This has about eighty thousand people and is the third city of Ireland. Not¬ 
withstanding Father Prout’s praises of the “beautiful ” city, Cork is small in size, with 
uninteresting houses of old red sandstone, and untidy streets, though of considerable 
commercial importance and forever famous for Blarney Castle and the Blarney stone, 
which you must not fail to kiss whenever you go there, for it will give you the gift of 
eloquence in return for your salute. 









i86 


Cities of the World. 


Belfast, the second city of the country, with its active, wide awake population ot 
three hundred and fifty thousand, is a very different place, and a seaport too. It has all 
the life and trade of Manchester and Glasgow, with far less smoke and dirt to obscure 
its outline of lofty and handsome buildings against the background of green hills. 
Along the extensive and well built quays lies the mercantile quarter, while the manu¬ 
factories stand on higher ground on the north and west of the city. Many villas are 

along the northern shores of the 
bay, and the White Linen Hall 
quarter is made up of well built 
and spacious streets, always full of 
people, for Belfast is the chief center 
of trade and manufacture in north¬ 
ern Ireland. It is well situated for 
commerce, and is growing so fast 
that before long it may become the 
first city in Green Erin. Beside the 
staple industries of linen and cotton 



making in all their branches, there are 
many houses employing thousands of 
hands in iron founding, flour and oil 
mills and other occupations, to fill the 
demands of shipping and outside trade. 

The exchange buildings are some of 
the most important in the city. The 
harbor has been improved very much 
lately, with many fine new docks and a 
tidal basin ; it now ranks among the 
best in Great Britain. The chief port of Ireland is at Dublin, the capital, which is not 
only a very important city but a beautiful one as well. 

Surrounded by grand mountain scenery, it stands on slightly rolling ground, much 
of it reclaimed from the sea, with the “ watery highway ” of the Liffey dividing it almost 
in the center, before emptying into Dublin Bay. The fevorite drive of the Dubliners is 


CASTLE PLACE, BELFAST. 


















Dublin. 


187 



the Circular Road, which makes a circuit of nearly nine miles around the city, inclosing 
its widely contrasting quarters, where live the high and low, the rich and poor of a 
strangely broken nation. The river runs from west to east and is the main highway of 
:he capital. The north-east and south-east quarters are occupied by the aristocracy, 
with lofty houses overlooking beautiful squares, lining the splendid streets or standing 
upon terraces above them. Dublin is famous for its squares ; there are a great many, 
always large and well kept, and often 
embellished with statuary. Stephen’s 
Green, the largest, covers twenty 
acres, and is about a mile around; 
and Merrion square, more elegant 
and aristocratic, is thirteen acres in 
size. The most imposing thoroughfare 


THE FOUR COURTS, DUBLIN. 

is Sackville street, which is a hundred and twenty feet broad ; it begins at Rutland Square 
in about the center of the upper town and from the beautiful building of the general 
Post Office, leads the way, with many a handsome edifice and noble monument, to the 
river and the Carlisle Bridge, which is the finest of the many that connect the two towns 
of the Irish capital. A continuation of the handsome street leads to the large park or 
square of the Trinity College and University, which forms a triangle whose point is al¬ 
most at the foot of the Bridge. This is in the center of the city, which vies with the 
north-west quarters in the style of its great emporiums of trade. In many of the shop- 



























Cities of the World. 


i88 

windows you can see magnificent quantities of rich linens and damasks, and lustrous 
nieces of the famous Irish poplins, made nowhere else in the world. There are many 
residences of the middle class of people here, while in the “ Liberties,” or the south-west 
division, the narrow, crooked streets are filled with huts and shanties, which are the 
homes of thousands of the most squalid and degraded sons and daughters of the Emerald 



CUSTOM HOUSE, DUBLIN. 

Isle, The Phoenix Park, which became of familiar name soon after the murder of Lord 
Cavendish and Mr. Burke, adjoins the north-western portion of the city. It is more than 
twice the size of Central Park in New York City and is a great and popular recreation 
ground, where military reviews, polo matches, and fine games of cricket are often held. 
The name is said to have come from the word feiniski, or clear water, there being a 
mineral spring in the neighborhood. The People’s Garden is a small part of the Phoenix 
Park, toward the City Gate ; it is laid out with flower gardens and promenades and is 
visited by all classes of people. 














SCOTLAND. 



T he famous land of Bruce and Wallace, of Scott and Burns, is associated with a thou¬ 
sand thrilling stories in legend and in history. Scotland is divided into two distinct 
portions ; the Highlands of the North are occupied by the Keltic or Gaelic races, while 
in the South the descendants of the ancient Teutons possess the Lowlands. Herein are 
the centers of culture and industry, the largest cities and richest country. The most 
celebrated city is Edinburgh, the largest, Glasgow. 

Edinburgh is the capital of 
Scotland, and stands in a most 
prominent position on the slope 
and summit of three hills, 
dominated by the grand old cas¬ 
tle in the center. From here 
there is a view that takes in 
Almost the entire city, and gives 
a better sight of the contrast 
between Old Edinburgh on the 
eastern ridge and New Edin¬ 
burgh above, than any other of 
the high and commanding points. 

The east of New Edinbtirgh is 
guarded by a craggy mound 
called Calton Hill, whose base is encircled by broad roads of the town. “ You mount 
by stairs in a cutting of the rock to find yourself in a field of monuments, among which 
you see that of Dugald Stewart, Burns, and Lord Nelson, as befits a sailor, on the top¬ 
gallant of the hill. The old Observatory^—a quaint brown building on the edge of the 
steep—and the new Observatory—a classical edifice with a dome—occupy the central 
portion of the summit. All these are scattered on a green turf, browsed over by some 
sheep. Immediately below is the famous old Cannon-gate Churchyard. From here you 
see almost the entire city, tilted by the inclination of the ground, each building standing 
out in delicate relief against the rest : a prospect full of change and of things moving.” 

The New Town surrounds the castle-hill, on all but the east and south-east sides, 
with its trim and regular streets, its gay and attractive gardens, its pillars, steeples, and 


KEYS OF THE CITY, EDINBURGH. 










Cities of the World. 


190 

monuments ; “ the rest is the Old Town of bulky, endless-storied buildings, and steep 
descending closes ; it is a city that is set on a hill, grim and sooty among the fair and 
classic stretches of the newer quaiters.” 

In the early days of danger, when Old Edinburgh’s walls were the only safeguard 
for the heads of the Scottish government, it became a place of great importance in the 
kingdom and grew so rapidly in population that every possible inch of room was used 
for houses, which soon rose to a height of from five to eleven stories, one side being 



EDINBURGH. 

often built against the natural ridges of rock ; throughout the whole city only one or two 
broad public thoroughfares were left, most of the houses having only steep paved lanes 
or “ closes ” between them. The main avenue, the backbone of this Auld Rcikie” as 
it has been called, led from the Grand Esplanade in front of the Castle, along the ridge 
to the Palace of Holyrood, or the Holy Cross. The first section of this famous old thor¬ 
oughfare is Castle Hill, which was the most aristocratic part of town a century and a half 
ago. Then comes the Lawn Market, continued by High Street, the broadest of the sec- 














Edinburgh. \ g i 

tions, and long Cannon Gate, at the end of which stand tlie ruins of Holyrood Abbey, 
with the palace beyond, 

“ A deserted palace where no monarch dwells ! ” 



The grand old pile, once the home of the Scottish kings and tlie fair, unfortunate 
Marie Stuart, stands almost the same as when the beautiful queen lived here ; it is a 
museum palace now, although the 
royal apartments are occasionally 
occupied. The Queen’s Park lies 
around the Palace, and to the south¬ 
ward “ the high belt of semi-circular 
rocks called Salisbury Crags,” rises 
“ by knoll and rocky bulwark and 
precipitous slope to the top of 
Arthur’s Seat.” On this great hill the 
grandly rugged Crags are toward the 
west, and the fabled knoll of Arthur’s 
Seat is on the south, towering over 
eight hundred feet above the Firth of 
Forth—on which the port of the city 
stands. The Queen’s Drive round 
the hill and the rifle ranges in the 
valley have carried every-day life and 
society to the spot now ; but for ages 
it stood in the grandest solitude 
almost in the midst of the “ busy and 
stormy capital.” Sir Walter Scott> 
whose beautiful monument is on 
“ merry Princes Street ” in the New 
Town, used to wander over this 
lonely spot, and loved “ that wild 
path winding around the foot,” and 
the view from the heights above 
“ commanding a close-built, high-piled city, stretching itself out in a form like a dragon.” 
Sublime he called it ; and full of sublime associations he and others have left it for us. 
The heart of Old Edinburgh, where John Knox and Cromwell, David Hume, Boswell, Dr. 
Johnson and hundreds of other great men and women lived, lies directly between the Salis¬ 
bury Crags and the Castle. In the midst of the dense labyrinth rise the stately old 
college and university buildings, among the most famous in Europe, and the Royal 


ROYAL EXCHANGE, EDINBURGH. 









192 


Cities of the World. 


Infirmary and the extensive Industrial Museum. Above, on High Street, are the long 
and picturesque Parliament House, Union Bank, Sheriff’s Court House, Signet Library 
and County Hall, all dominated by the lofty spire and beautiful Gothic walls of St. 
Giles Cathedral. This is the view of “ Stately Edinburgh, throned on crags.” “ Beautiful 
exceedingly, in the gray morning, in the garish noon-day, and in the golden evening, 
* * * sublime in the summer afternoon ; and grandly solemn by night when the 

enormous masses of buildings are illuminated by countless lamps that only make the 
darkness visible.” When the moon is up, its slender spires and Gothic towers are 
transformed into long streaks of silver light rising here and there out of oceans of 

massive shadow, while clear and bold against the sky 
the venerable castle of strength broods over all. In 
whatever light and at any point the vision of this 
acropolis is the most alluring sight of all. On all 
sides but one the rock is bare and rises almost per¬ 
pendicular out of the town, with the great buttresses 
, and stone parapets, the walls, batteries and massive 
round tower of the castle occupying the highest plat¬ 
form. Mons Megs and its celebrated artillery com¬ 
mand a height almost four hundred feet above the 
sea. “ Frowning like the brow of some colossal Gor¬ 
don,” some one says ; but to me it seems like a 
grave but tender guardian, preserving the regalia and 
great relics of the kingdom, while keeping watch guard 
over all its capital. 

In the view from the Castle, “ half Scotland 
stretches around ; on the south, the blue bulk of the 
Pentland Hills ; on the north, the green, gnarled, 
round-headed Ochils, with the Firth flowing between ; 
BANK OF SCOTLAND, EDINBURGH, and on the extreme far north-west, the hills of Rob 

Roy’s country, Ben Lomond, Ben Ledi, Ben Voirlich, 
and the rest, lifting up their kingly foreheads ; seaward are Inchkeith, the Bass, North 
Berwick, Law and the Leith ; eastward, the Lion of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags,” 
while cloSe below the solid limestone of man’s rearing, in Edinburgh, old and new. 

Much of Edinburgh’s wealth comes from its banks and insurance offices ; but, except¬ 
ing the distilleries, ale and beer breweries, many of which are in the vicinity of Holyrood— 
printing and book publishing houses, and manufacturing of coaches. India-rubber articles 
and a few other things, the city is quite unimportant in industries ; it is famous for literary, 
artistic, scientific, law and medical institutions and associations, and its good society. 
Many of the Scottish landed gentry have fine residences here. There are about two 













Glasgow. 


193 


hundred and fifty thousand people living in it, 
while in Glasgow there are more than twice as 
many, or five hundred and twenty-five thousand. 
The port of the river Clyde, the city encircled by 
hills and uplands with its shipping, its tall chim¬ 
neys and two million spindles, is strikingly a city 
of the present. 

The old part of the town is level and lies 
along the river banks, but in the last seventy years 
it has increased to five times its former size, and 
now stretches up to the rolling ground of the 
northern part of the valley. This immense 
growth is due to the Clyde, which connects the 
city with a world-wide commerce, especially for 
the vast quantities of iron and coal abounding in 
the adjacent districts. It is a well-built and health- 


A FAMILIAR BIT OF EDINBURGH 
WEATHER. 


GLASGOW. 












194 


Cities of the World. 


fully managed place, although acres upon acres are occupied by manufactories 
necessarily dirty and even noxious. There are many fine streets and noble buildings 
entirely devoted to business and always densely packed with busy people. There is the 
Cathedral, which was built in the twelfth century, and even compared with all the 
grandeur of Gothic Edinburgh is said to be the finest church of that architecture in 
Scotland. The University, too, is a celebrated place, with its twelve hundred students 
and ancient buildings, founded in 1443. Glasgow impresses you as an enterprising, 
thrifty town ; the fame of its great docks and noble river, its large trade and enormous 
manufactories have spread all over the world ; part of its wealth is seen in commodious 
docks, warehouses and places of business, in comfortable homes, good schools and 
institutions, and pleasant park and pleasure grounds. Thousands of chimneys rear their 
heads above the roofs of cotton mills, glass-works, paper-mills, dye-works and engine- 
factories, but all are distanced by the smoke-stack of the St. Rollox chemical works ; 
these are the largest in the world, and this chimney is four hundred and fifty feet high, 
as tall as the great pyramid of Egypt. The ship-yards and steamer factories of Glasgow 
are so celebrated that the name of “Clyde” is often used for any great ship-yard, 
especially where iron vessels are made. Nearly all of the coarse linen of Great Britain 
comes from Dundee, which is a city of about a hundred and fifty thousand people, no 
larger than the coal city of Newcastle in England. It stands on the left bank of the 
broad Tay, ten miles from the North Sea. It has some splendid quays and many 
buildings that surpass those in larger cities, and its,schools, public parks, charitable 
homes and hospitals show how good hearted and public spirited the people are. About 
the only important jute factories in the world are here, and form the cheapest textile 
fabrics made in Great Britain. The dry plants are imported from India and made into 
a great many things, from the coarsest kinds of bagging and sacking to very fine and 
beautiful carpets. 

The fourth city of Scotland is Aberdeen, which has about as many people as there 
are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or a hundred and twenty-five thousand. This is the chief 
city and seaport of northern Scotland, a thriving and progressive place, doing much for 
the importance and benefit of its own people, and a large manufacturing and shipping 
trade for the world at large. Almost every little English and American girl has worn a 
“ round ” comb made in Aberdeen, and many of you have also seen or heard of its great 
linen mills. Our very best table-cloths and napkins come from here, and almost every 
Scotch lad has had his plaid and lassie her frock from the woollen mills along the river Dee. 
Paper, polished granite, cattle, grains, and preserved provisions and fish are also exported 
in large quantities. The old town, which was a royal burgh in the twelfth century, was 
mostly burned in 1336, and lies on the banks of the Don, about a mile above the present 
city, which was built up soon after the burning and called New Aberdeen. The oldest 
part of the celebrated University of Aberdeen is in the old town. 


SPAIN. 


T he principal cities of Spain are the capitals of the sixteen kingdoms and principali¬ 
ties, which, when first united, formed the great Spanish monarchy under Ferdinand 
and Isabella. Each of these principalities has kept a certain independence and char¬ 
acteristics of its own to this day, although the country is now divided into new depart¬ 
ments, and instead of the old historic names, each is known from the name of its capital. 
Madrid is nearly in the center of the country, on the side of the almost waterless River 
Manzanares. The site was chosen for the capital by the Emperor Charles V., whose 
gouty limbs were more comfortable here than in the old capital of Valladolid, but none 
of his successors have been able to see any natural charms in the ill-situated and un¬ 
healthy city. For these, and many more disadvantages, gouty and phlegmatic, Charles 
has been held solely accountable during almost three centuries. Nevertheless, Madrid 
has become a great city of nearly four hundred thousand people now, and to every true 
Spaniard it has no equal in all the world. It is of circular shape, with a low wall hedging 
it in from the dry hilly and barren plateau which surrounds it. The center of the city, 
where strangers—free at last from the confusion of porters, guides, hackmen, guards and 
boys that welcomed them at the stations—draw their first breath and take their first inde¬ 
pendent view of the Spanish capital, is the Fuerta del Sol, or the Gate of the Sun. “ It 
is a stupendous sight, an immense semi-circular square, surrounded by high buildings, 
into which open, like ten torrents, ten great streets, and from every street comes a con¬ 
tinuous, noisy wave of people and carriages, and every thing seen there is in proportion 
to the locality. The sidewalks are as wide as streets, the cafes large as squares, the 
basins of a fountain the size of a lake ; and on every side there is a dense and mobile 
crowd, a deafening racket, an indescribable gayety and brightness, in the features, ges¬ 
tures, and colors, which makes you feel that neither the populace nor the city are 
strangers to you.” As you go about there are “ no great palaces nor ancient monu¬ 
ments of art; but there are wide, clean, gay streets flanked by houses, painted in livid 
colors, broken here and there by squares of a thousand different forms, laid out almost 
at random, and every square contains a garden, fountain,and statuettes. Some streets 
have a slight ascent,” so that you see the sky in the distance, as through a vista. The 
walls are covered for some distance with play bills ; in the shops and on every side 
there is an incessant coming and going ; the caf6s, too, are crowded. There are some 
very splendid cafes in the Gate of the Sun, where the Moorish custom of calling waiters 
by two claps of the hands is kept up. Those who can afford it sip beer and wines ; but 
the lower classes “ sit down contentedly for a whole evening to a glass of azucarillo, a 


196 


Cities of the World. 


kind of sugared water, or to a snow lemonade. Another esteemed cooling beverage is 
a kind of cream made from pounded cypress root and then half frozen. The height of 
luxury is to order with this, at an added cost of some two cents, a few tubular wafers— 

fancifully named barqiiil- 
los, or little boats-through 
which the half-liquid re¬ 
freshment is sucked.” 
You see the plain Euro¬ 
pean dress everywhere in 
place of the bright pictur¬ 
esque national garments 
of other days, except 
among the peasants ; but 
all provinces are repre¬ 
sented in the capital in 
greater or less numbers, 
and perhaps the gay, 
fantastic costumes of the 
various localities are more 
picturesque than ever 
among the plainer clothes 
that modern fashion has 
given almost half the 
city-living world to wear. 
Churches ” smeared with 
gold and stucco and paint 
in tasteless extravagance ” 
are very numerous and 
nearly all devoted to the 
Roman Catholic religion. 
Other buildings and many 
of the entire streets 
through the middle and 
on the edges of the city 
look like Paris ; portions 
have a resemblance to Bos- 
there are narrow ways and 
the broad streets run- 
or Toledo street, “ an 



STATUE OF PHILIP IV., MADRID. 

ton, Massachusetts, and bordering upon these parts 
much of the old Spanish architecture to be seen. One of 
ning toward the southern outskirts is the Calle de Toledo, 






































bull fighting 

































































198 


Cities of the World. 


old meandering mart full of mantles and sashes, blankets, guitars, flannel dyed 
in the national colors of red and yellow, basket work and wood work, including 
the carved sticks known as molinillos —little mills—with which the beverage of 
chocolate is mixed.” The donkey is at home in the narrow thoroughfares about here, 
and the stifling odors, which in the finer streets are somewhat scattered on the air, are 
here gathered in full force, especially in the dingy, unconventional and attractive little 
cafes. On the western side of the city several thoroughfares come together at the 
Square of the Orient, where arises the monument of Philip IV. in the midst of a 
garden surrounded by thirty colossal statues. Here are the Naval Museum, the Theatro 
—or theater— Real, the Royal Stables, and, more prominent than all, the Royal Palace 
with adjoining buildings of state and the royal collections ; between this grand pile and 
the river lie the Gardens of Moro, where the king usually takes his morning walk. The 
park of the city, the Madrid Park, is on the other side of town, lying along the eastern 
outskirts, while the favorite promenade of the people, the Prado, lies between. It is 
reached through the street Alcala, which is so wide that it seems almost like a rectangular 
square, dividing Madrid in half ; it runs from i\\Q Puerta del Sol toward the east, and ends 
in an immense plain, that extends all along the side of the city and contains gardens, 
walks, squares, theaters, bull-circuses, triumphal arches, museums, small palaces, and 
fountains. The Prado is a very broad avenue, not very long, flanked by minor avenues, 
which extend to the east of the city, at one side of the famous garden of the Buen retiro, 
and is shut in at the two extremities by two enormous stone fountains ; it is hedged in on 
the sides by thousands of chairs and hundreds of benches belonging to water and orange- 
venders, a class of people that seem to make up a large portion of the population. The 
most frequented part of the Prado is called the Salon del Prado. At the fashionable 
hour it looks like a gay festival. The upper northern continuation is called the prome¬ 
nade of Recoletos. This runs between a very long chain of little palaces, villas, 
theaters and new buildings painted in bright colors, on the left, while opposite nearly 
two miles of country places make up the “ smiling suburb of Salamanca.” 

As regards promenades, theaters and shows, Madrid is, without doubt, one of the 
first cities in the world. There are operas, comedies of all grades, from the elegant 
and aristocratic to the poorest and commonest; all are crowded. The most celebrated 
singers in the world make every effort to sing at the capital of Spain ; the artists there 
are sought after and feted ; the passion for music is the only one which equals that for 
bull-fights, which is the supreme, the national pastime of Spain. It is patronized by all, 
from the king to the poorest vender, and the espadas or maiadores —the bull-fighters—are 
looked upon with admiration that from the warm-blooded Spanish nature is almost equal 
to idolatry in our eyes. “ In every crowd and cafe you see the tall, shapely, dark-faced, 
silent men, with a cool, professionally murderous look, whose enormously wide black hats, 
short jackets, tight trowsers and pig-tails of braided hair proclaim them chulos, or mem- 


Madrid. 


199 


bers of the noble ring. Intrepid, with muscles of steel and finely formed, the higher 
class of these professional fighters are the idols of the people. Songs are made about 
them, their deeds are painted on fans and people crowd around to see them in hotels or 
on the streets as if they were heroes or star tragedians.” Madrid is the seat of the bull¬ 
fighting art, and the circus here is the foremost of all places for the contests. The season 



NATIONAL DANCE. 

IS opened in the spring and lasts till fall. The opening day of the bull-fights 
is said to be regarded as a far more important occasion than a change in the 
ministry of the government. The Bull Ring lies in the west of Madrid, and when 
the long-looked-for inauguration day arrives, people begin moving toward the spot fully 
three hours before the appointed time. The route is lined for a mile with omnibuses, 










200 


Cities of the World. 


tartanas, broken-down diligences and wheezy cabs moving along with files of pedestrians 
and the showy turn-outs of the rich, all finally getting into one great mass rushing to the 
scene of action. “ The mule-bells ring, whips crack, the drivers shout wildly as the 
vehicles dash by windows full of on-lookers, by the foaming fountains of the Prado and 
up the road to the grim Colosseum of stone and brick, set in the midst of scorched and 
arid fields.” The great ring within is surrounded by a vast amphitheater of terraced 
granite, around the top of which runs a gallery whose roof is supported by slender col¬ 
umns. The circus holds at least ten thousand people, and is divided into two parts ; 
one is sunny, the other in the shade. The rich and aristocratic sit in shady seats and the 
boxes below the gallery, which cost more than the sunny seats, where the common people 
sit in a fantastic assemblage, with their gay dress and paper fans and parasols of red, 
yellow, purple and green. But the great and all-absorbing sight, as soon as the trumpets 
announce the grand entry, is in the arena, and there only. The colors of the fighters* 
costumes ; the bulls, and then the dash of the mad animals and the maneuvering of both 
bulls and espadas; the skill and the suspense, and the thrilling horror or depraved 
delight, these are the fight itself, which an artist with colors and canvas can partly pic¬ 
ture, but where words alone entirely fail. 

Barcelona, with only the Pyrenees above and the narrow arm of the Mediterranean 
on the east to separate it from France, is rather a seaport for French trade than a gen¬ 
uinely Spanish city. “In appearance it is the least Spanish city of any place in Spain. 
There are large buildings, of which few are old ; long streets, regular squares, shops, 
theaters, great superb cafes, and a continuous coming and going of people, carriages 
and carts from the shore of the sea to the heart of the city, and from here to the distant 
quarters. A broad, straight street, called the Ranibla, shaded by two rows of trees, 
crosses nearly the entire city from the harbor up. A spacious promenade, lined with 
new houses, extends along the sea-shore on a high walled dyke, in the shape of a terrace, 
against which the waves dash ; an immense suburb, almost a new city, stretches along the 
north, and on every side new houses break the old boundary lines, are scattered over the 
fields, on the hillsides, and extend in interminable lines as far as the neighboring villages. 
On all the surrounding heights rise villas, little palaces and factories, which appear 
one behind the other until they form a wreath around the city. On every side there is 
transforming and renovating and manufacturing—mainly machinery for ship-building and 
all kinds of iron work. The people work and prosper and Barcelona flourishes.” The 
greatest architectural sight in the city is the Gothic Cathedral, with bold towers, splendid 
jewel-like stained glass windows ; and the greatest living show is the Carnival. When this is 
in progress “ the streets are traversed by long processions, and giants, princes. Moors, war¬ 
riors, and a troop of figures dressed in yellow with a long cane in their hands, at the top 
of which is tied a purse that they poke under every one’s nose, into all the shop win¬ 
dows, even up to the balconies of the first floors of the houses, asking for alms.” One of 


Barcelo7ia. 


201 


the most curious things in the Carnival is the masquerade of the children. “ It is the 
custom to dress the boys under eight, some as men, in the French style, in complete 
evening dress, with white gloves, great mustaches and long hair ; some as grandees of 
Spain, covered with ribbons and trinkets ; others as Catalan peasants, with cap and man¬ 
tle ; the girls as court ladies, amazons, poetesses, with the lyre and crown of laurel, and 
both, too, in the costumes of the various provinces of the state ; some as flower girls of 



MALAGA—PORT, QUAY, AND CATHEDRAL. 

Valencia, some as Andalusian gypsies, others as Basque mountaineers, altogether the 
oddest and most picturesque dresses that can be imagined.” Barcelona lacks great 
buildings of interest ; there are a few historic palaces ; “ several enormous Roman col¬ 
umns in the Street of Paradise stand in the midst of modern houses, surrounded by tor¬ 
tuous staircases and dark rooms ; but there are beauty and diversion in the fountains 




/ 


X 


202 Cities of the World. 

with rostral columns, pyramids, statues ; boulevards lined with villas, gardens, cafds, 
hotels ; a bull circus capable of holding ten thousand spectators ; a suburb which extends 
along a promontory that shuts in the harbor, built with the symmetry of a chess-board 
and inhabited by ten thousand sailors ; many libraries ; a very rich museum of natural 
history and a building containing archives, in which there is a very large collection of 
historical papers relating to Spain from the ninth century to the present day, that is, 
from the first Counts of Catalonia to the War of Independence.” 

“ The cafes of Barcelona, like almost all the cafes of Spain, consist of one immense 
saloon, ornamented with great mirrors and as many tables as it will hold, of which one 
rarely remains empty for a single half hour during the day. In the evening they are so 
crowded that one is often forced to wait quite a time in order to procure even a little 
place near the door. Around every table there is a circle of five or six caballeros, with 
the capa over their shoulders (this is a mantle of dark cloth, furnished with a large 
hood), and in every circle they are playing dominoes. It is the favorite game of the 
Spanish. In the cafes from twilight you-liear the dull, continuous, deafening sound, like 
the noise of hailstones, from thousands of markers, turned and returned by hundreds of 
hands, so that you would be obliged to raise your voice in order to make yourself heard 
by the person sitting near you. People drink chocolate, most delicious in Spain, generally 
served in little cups ; it is thick almost like preserves, and hot enough to burn one’s 
throat.” Altogether this un-Spanish, flourishing city of Spain, with its mixed population 
of three hundred thousand people, is very attractive, and Don Alvares Tarfe—in Don 
Quixote—is not the only visitor who had left it with the heartfelt words on his lips : 
“ Farewell, Barcelona, the home of courtesy, refuge for strangers, country of the valiant, 
farewell.” 

The second seaport and third city of Spain is Malaga, which has impressed many 
travelers as a grand sight from the port. It lies up from the shore, outlined against 
wild and rocky mountains on the right. On the slope, below the blackened ruins of the 
Castle of Gibralfaro, the cathedral rises majestically above all the surrounding build¬ 
ings, with two beautiful towers and a very high belfry pointing toward heaven, while a 
multitude of smoky houses, one above the other, seem to have been placed at random 
between. “ On the left of the cathedral, along the shore, is a row of houses, ash, violet 
and yellowish in color, with a white line around the windows and doors. Beyond lies a 
garland of green and reddish hills that inclose the city like walls of an amphitheater ; on 
the right and left, along the sea-shore, are other mountains, hills and rocks, as far as the 
eye can reach. The interior of the city contains very little of note. The new part, 
occupying the space formerly covered by the sea, is built with broad straight streets and 
great bare houses ; the rest of the city is a labyrinth of tortuous streets and a conglom¬ 
eration of houses without color or without grace. There are spacious squares, with 
gardens and fountains, some columns and arches of Arabian edifices, but no modern 


Valencia. 


203 

monuments, much filth and not many people,” though the population is said to be about 
the same as Valencia,—a hundred and fifty thousand. 

Valencia is below Barcelona, following the coast line to the southward, and is the 
capital of the fertile and beautiful Kingdom of Valencia. By land it is reached through 
“ gardens, vineyards, thick groves of orange trees, white villas surmounted by terraces, 
gay villages, all painted in bright colors, in groups and rows ; thickets of palms, pome¬ 
granates, aloes and sugar cane, endless hedges of Indian figs, long chains of hills, cone- 
shaped heights, converted into kitchen, flower-gardens and swards. Everywhere, in fact, 
there is a luxurious vegetation, which covers every vacancy, overtops every height, 
clothes each projection, rises, waves, sweeps along, crowds together, interlaces, impedes 
the views, shuts in the roads, dazzles you with green, and wearies you with beauty. * * * 
The first building you see upon entering Valencia is an immense bull circus, formed by 
four rows of arches, one above the other, supported by large pilasters, built of brick and 
resembling in the distance the Colosseum at Rome. The city is built on a vast and 
arid plain on the bank of the Guadalquiver, which separates it from its suburbs, a short 
distance from the bay, which serves as a harbor ; it is all tortuous streets, flanked by 
high, ugly and many colored houses. On the left bank there is an immense promenade 
formed by majestic avenues and beautiful gardens, which are reached by leaving the city 
through the gate of the Cid, flanked by two great embattled towers, and named after the 
great Spanish hero, because he passed through it in 1904, after having driven the Arabs 
from Valencia.” Besides the cathedral, which has many historical associations, but is not 
very fine, there are several places worth seeing,—beautiful palaces, where great events in 
the history of the kingdom have occurred ; but above all is the Lonja, or merchants’ 
exchange, where there is a famous room, formed by three great naves, divided by 
twenty-four twisted columns, over which curve the light arches of the ceiling. Val¬ 
encia alive and gay must be seen during the annual festival; then it is bright, gay, 
spirited and busy. Amusements of all kinds are held at all hours ; and trade is at its 
briskest pace. You should see the shops and the people then in the Mercado, “that 
quaint business street, crowded with little stalls and with peasants in blue, red, yellow, 
mantled and cothurned, their heads topped with pointed hats or variegated handkerchiefs 
deftly knotted into a high crown ; ” or in “ those peculiar shops behind the antique Silk 
Exchange, which are named from signs they hang out, representing the Blessed Virgin, 
Christ, John the Baptist, or the Bleeding Heart. One had for its device a rose, and 
another, distinguished by two large toy lambs placed at its door, was known as the Lambs 
of God.” 

“ The most beautiful thing to be seen at Valencia is the market. The Valen¬ 
cia peasants are more strangely and artistically dressed than any in Spain. They 
have the air of Greeks, bedouins, jugglers or rope-dancers, in their ordinary best clothes. 
They wear a full white shirt in the place of a jacket, a variegated velvet waistcoat, open 


204 


Cities of the Wo7'ld. 


at the chest, a pair of trowsers like those of the zouaves, which only come to the knee, 
and stand out like full shirts ; a red or blue sash around the waist, a kind of white em¬ 
broidered woollen leggings, which show the bare knee, and a pair of rope sandals like the 
Catalan peasants. As a covering for the head, which is shaved almost like the Chinese, 
they wear a red, blue, yellow or white handkerchief, twisted in the shape of a cartridge, 
and knotted on the temple or nape of the neck. Upon this they place a little velvet hat. 
When they go to town they generally carry over their shoulders or arms, sometimes in 
the shape of a shawl, mantle or scarf, a w'oolen capa, long and narrow with bright colored 
stripes—usually white and red—and ornamented with tufts of fringe and rosettes. 
A city square, where hundreds of men dressed like this are gathered, is like a carnival 
scene.” 

In the more modern quarters, the shops are after the model Paris sets. Their 
articles are prettily arranged, and the window curtains are very cleverly painted with 
figures and scenes, some of them being quite funny. Altogether, Valencia is the 
cheeriest of Spanish cities—except Barcelona, which is half French—and has besides a 
good many sights peculiarly its own. The Street of the Cavaliers is lined with somber, 
strange, shabbily elegant old mansions of the nobility, with Gothic windows and open 
arcades in the top story. The new houses are gayly tinted in blue and rose and cream- 
color ; and the gourd-Hke domes of the cathedral and other large buildings glisten with 
blue tiles and white, set in stripes. A broad boulevard, hedged in with sycamore trees, 
leads to Grao, the port, which is two miles distant. In summer this is crowded with 
tartanas —bouncing little covered wagons, lined with crimson curtains, usually filled with 
pretty senoritas—young Spanish ladies—and wdth more imposing equipages, adorned with 
footmen in the English style. Every body goes to the shore to bathe toward evening. 
The little bathing establishments extend for a long distance on the sands, and are very 
neat. Between them and the water are refreshment sheds and tables, and every one eats 
or drinks on coming out of the,sea ; after that the whole concourse returns again to the 
city, to sleep away the short summer night, and loll away the long day, till it is time to 
come again. 

Of all the races of Spain the finest, the handsomest and the most attractive in every 
way is the Andalusian ; and Seville, their capital, is a city famous in poetry and song. 
The place itself is modest enough, but here every body is satisfied v/ith life, and if once 
you should live in it, you would feel something of the same affection as the Spaniards for 
this “ Queen of Andalusia.” It is the quaint, interesting town of Cordova, enlarged, 
beautified and enriched, with the same spotless whiteness—though not so very white as 
Cadiz—the same intricate network of small streets, with the scattered odor of oranges 
and lovely air of mystery and oriental appearance. Beside the modest white houses rise 
sumptuous marble palaces, differing in luxury and size, but often on the same plan, each 
window with a balcony, and all with the patio in the center. “ The passage and windows 


Seville. 


205 


of the court correspond with the front windows, so that the passer-by looks into the very 
heart of a genuine Seville abode, as through a sort of lantern.” The patio is seldom 
larger than an ordinary room, surrounded by shady cloisters, containing the summer 
apartments of the family, or several households, as there are sometimes in one house. 
“ Even the poorest dwelling has its airy court, set with shrubs, and perhaps provided 
with water. They are tiled, or paved in marble, as most rooms are in Spain. The well- 
to-do people protect them from the open vestibule by gates of ornamental open iron.” 
Jets of water play in the center, and all around are flowers, pictures and statuary, while 



SEVILLE. 


above, an awning is stretched across to keep off the sun. At night the doors are left open, 
and the moonlight, the odor of roses, and the splashing sounds of water extend into the 
sleeping rooms. In one corner is a work stand, in another a chess-table, or light, mov¬ 
able screen ; here and there are chairs, foot-stools and all the summer comforts and 
luxuries the house can afford. The people sit here in delightful idleness, at work, or 
receiving their friends. In the evening coffee is brought out, and among the flowers and 
statuary, laughter and sweet songs to thrumming of the guitar mingle with the murmur 
of the fountain. In winter they all disappear, furniture, ornaments and people ; the 
















206 


Cities of the World. 


patio is deserted, for the household then lives upon the upper floors. This peculiarity of 
the Seville houses makes the city remarkably gay and attractive, and adds an oriental 
charm to its “ little tortuous streets that emerge on immense squares, filled with orange 
trees, or the deserted and silent cross-road, from which one comes out, after a short turn, 
into a street traversed by a noisy crowd.” Various foot-streets, where no carriages go, 
“are lined with attractive, bazaar-like shops, and overhung by ‘sails,’ drawn from roof to 
roof, which make telescopic booths, narrow, shady avenues. In these now and again you 
see the picturesque cigarette-girls, or other venders, gayly dressed peasants, or, perhaps, 
a long-cloaked figure, with his sharp-pointed stiletto concealed in the folds of his dress, 
ready for some revengeful deed. These calles, or alley-ways, squirm among the houses 
with no visible intention of ever coming out anywhere.” At every window, in every 
garden, there are some of the famously beautiful Andalusian women, dressed in white, 
half hidden among the graperies and rose bushes. On the bank of the Guadalquiver, 
one of the finest promenades is an arbored road, two or three miles long. Toward 
evening it is an enchanted spectacle, with its pedestrians and equipages ; some of the 
horses seen here are the most magnificent in Spain. “The Christian Promenade extends 
from the famous^ Golden Tower to the palace of the Duke of Montpensie, and 
is entirely shaded by oriental plane trees, oaks, cypresses, willows, poplars, 
and other southern trees. A great bridge crosses the river, and leads to the 
suburb of Triana. A long row of ships, the light boats, called golettas, and 
barks extend along the river, and between the Golden Tower and the duke’s palace there 
is a continual coming and going of boats. Toward setting sun a crowd of ladies swarm 
through the avenues, troops of workmen pass the bridge, the work on the ships increases, 
a band hidden among the trees plays, the river is tinged with rose tint, the air is filled 
with the perfume of flowers, and over all is the flaming color of the evening sky. Then 
the city becomes another sight ; as night settles down the patios of all the houses are 
illuminated and the marbles of the vestibules, the mosaics of the walls, the glass in the 
doors and the crystals of the tapers shine in a thousand colors. To pass through the 
streets—full of promenaders—seemed like going through so many ball rooms, crowded 
with ladies and overflowing with music, voices and laughter.” In the daylight the fairy 
land has vanished and you are yourself again, the dazzling spell has left, and you are 
free to see the “ lions ” of the famous city. “ First of all comes the cathedral, grand and 
magnificent outside, in the center of its spacious square ; wonderful, bewildering within, 
with pillars that in the distance appear too slender to support the building, though they 
are large as towers. There are five naves, each one of which might form a church ; 
all of them together form sixty-eight bold vaulted ceilings which seem to expand and 
rise slowly as you look at them. The chapels are worthy of the church, for they con¬ 
tain the masterpieces of over a hundred painters and sculptors.” There are so many 
marvelous things in art and historical interest about the Cathedral that I can not even 


Granada. 


207 


name them. There is the Court of the Oranges situated on the west of the church, 
surrounded by a great embattled wall, and set with a fountain in the center encircled by 
a grove of orange trees, and the Giralda, that are especially famous and beautiful. 

The Giralda is an old Arabian tower, built, it is said, in the year 1000, after the designs 
of Gaver, the inventor of algebra. Although it has undergone some important changes 
it has still an Arabian appearance, immense and imposing as an Egyptian pyramid and 
at the same time as gay and lovely as the chiosk of a garden. It is a square brick tower 
of a very beautiful rose color, quite bare up to a certain point, after which it is orna¬ 
mented with little Moorish mullion windows, scattered here and there at random, and 
furnished with small balconies ; then there rises a Christian bell tower three floors in 
height : in the first is the bell ; the second is encircled by a balustrade, and the third is 
formed like a kind of bell tower, upon which turns, like a weather vane, a colossal 
statue of gilded bronze.” From afar and near it is a landmark, and in all the range of view 
from the pinnacle there is nothing so fair as Seville itself, white as marble, “ encircled by 
a wreath of gardens, groves and avenues in the midst of a country scattered with villas 
and covered with oriental beauties.” On the same square as the Cathedral is the 
Alcazar, an ancient palace of the Moorish kings, like a fortress with its high walls and 
embattled towers without, but within is the most elegant Arabian-Christian royal palace 
in the world ; next to it is the Casa de Pilatos, a simple and plain looking palace on the 
outside, marvelous within the courts and grand halls. Seville is now an intellectual city, 
though it no longer deserves the name of the Spanish Athens, which it once so proudly 
bore ; and after Madrid it is the most flourishing in art, literature, and university 
education in Spain. Its people number about a hundred and forty thousand, and its 
interesting sights—they are legion. 

Granada is the most celebrated city of Southern Spain, although with its population 
of seventy-five thousand it is now but the shadow of the powerful city of the Moors, 
which, before the Christian conquest, held five hundred thousand people. 

“ Granada rests in what might pass for the Happy Valley of Rasselas, a deep stretch 
of thirty miles, called simply the Vega, and tilled from end to end on a system of irriga¬ 
tion established by the Moslem conquerors.” It is a town of “ spacious squares, some 
beautiful straight streets and others tortuous and narrow, lined with houses, painted in 
imitation bas-reliefs, with cupids, garlands, bits of curtain and veils of a thousand colors, 
without that oriental aspect peculiar to the other Andalusian cities. The lowest part of 
Granada is almost entirely built up with the regularity of a modern city ; ” they lead to 
the picturesque Alameda, which is said to be the most beautiful promenade in the world ; 
it is “ a long avenue of extraordinary width through which fifty carriages in line could 
pass, flanked by minor avenues, along which run rows of immense trees that form at a 
great height an enormous arch of verdure, so thick that not a ray of sunshine can shine 
through it; and, at the extremities of the middle avenue, two fountains, which throw up 


208 


Cities of the World. 


water in large streams, that fall again in fine vaporous rain ; and between the avenues 
crystaline springs : and, in the center, a garden filled with roses, myrtle, jasmine and 
springs of water ; on one side is the river Xenil, which flows between two banks shaded 
by groves of laurel, and far away are the mountains covered with snow, upon which the dis¬ 
tant palms rear their fantastic heads ; and all about a vivid green very thick and luxu¬ 
riant, which allows one to catch a glimpse here and there of blue sky that is 
bewitching ; ” dominating all is the Alhambra, situated on a high hill, looking like a 
fortress in the distance. This great palace of the Moorish power in Spain is the grandest 



COURT 07 BLESSING, ALHAMBRA. 


monument in the country, though battered and partly fallen by the wanton abuse of 
enemies and time. It is but a relic of the past now, and yet is so wonderful that many 
other writers beside our own Washington Irving have filled whole volumes in description 
of it and the history connected with it. One view of it that should never be missed— 
nor the visit itself omitted—is from the Generalife, the Moorish sovereigns’ summer 
villa, on the summit of a flowery mountain rising on the right bank of the Darro 
opposite the hill of the Alhambra. Nearly all traces of by-gone days are here super* 





















Cadiz. 


209 


seded by a small, simple, white villa, with few windows, an arched gallery and a 
terrace, and is hidden in the midst of a thicket of laurel and myrtle. 

Cadiz, on the other side of the grand old rock of Gibraltar, though not very large, 
is also a famous town of Spain. From the sea it looks like an “island of plaster,— 
a great white spot in the midst of the sea, without a dark shading, a black point, 
or a single shadow upon it. A long narrow strip of land joins it with the main¬ 
land, and it is bathed on all sides by the sea, like a ship ready to set sail and only 
fastened to the shore by a cable. As you approach it every thing seems whiter and 
whiter ; it is the whitest city in the world. In the houses, within or without, their courts, 
the walls of the shops, the stone seats, pilasters, even the most remote corners and 
darkest houses of the poor, or most unfrequented streets, are all white. No servant, who 
does not understand whitewashing, is received in any family. The streets are straight, 
but very narrow, so that, as they are very long too and most of them cross the whole city, 
one can see at the end, as through the crack of a door, a small strip of sky. The houses 
have a large number of windows, and every window is furnished with a kind of project¬ 
ing inclosed balcony, which rests on that of the window above and supports the one of 
the window below ; in many streets of this fashion houses are completely covered with glass. 
You hardly see a bit of wall, and seem to be walking through the corridors of an immense 
museum. Here and there, between the houses, project the superb branches of a palm ; 
in every square there is a luxurious mass of verdure ; at all the windows there are tufts 
of grass and bunches of flowers.” From one of the many towers the view of Cadiz is 
like a great white play-city. Who would ever think it had been burned, bombarded, 
devastated by plague and the scene of such horrible massacres ! it lies so perfectly pure- 
looking now, who would ever guess at its thrilling history ! From the midst of the build¬ 
ings as from the sea it is milk-white. “There is not a roof in the entire city. Every 
house is closed at the top by a terrace, surrounded by a whitewashed parapet. From 
almost all these terraces rises a small tower, white, too, which, in turn, is surmounted by 
another terrace cupola or species of sentinel box ; every thing white. All these little 
cupolas, points and battlements, which form a curious and very varied outline around 
the city, stand out and appear whiter still against the blue of the sea. The cathedral is 
an immense marble edifice of the sixteenth century, of a bold and noble architecture, 
and rich, like all the Spanish churches, in every kind of treasure.” Above the high altar 
in the Cadiz convent is the picture which Murillo was painting when he had the fall from 
the scaffolding which caused his death. The bull circus and the picture gallery are in¬ 
teresting, but they are not so fine as many others in Spain, while the promenade along 
the sea shore, among oranges and palms, is perfectly charming. In the evening the band 
plays and the broad walks are filled with gay crowds of gallant Spanish cavaliers, and 
beautiful, dark-eyed women. 

Sunny Spain, with its half-tropical climate, and easy-going, pleasure-loving people, 


2 lO 


Cities of the World, 


sfeems a land where work is very unimportant. It is easy to live, where the natural pro¬ 
ducts are cheap, palatable and nourishing, and the weather is warm enough to spend 
most of the time out of doors ; then, a great many people—especially in the cities— 
belong to the nobility and are supported by the government in offices of civil trust, in the 
army, clergy and different orders of nuns, to say nothing of the numbers who live as 
prisoners, or as beggars all their lives. But there are some workers ; in the fertile plains 
and valleys farmers raise olives, almonds, grapes, nuts, oranges, lemons and raisins, which 
are valuable exports, although common enough at home. It takes many hands to make 
these into oil and prepare them for the foreign market, even before they can go to the 
merchants or the shippers. There is a great mineral wealth in Spain that is worked 
somewhat, and many peasants are employed day after day as shepherds to care for the 
flocks that pasture on the hill-sides. Tradesmen and shopkeepers copy something of the 
French enterprise in their stores ; artisans and servants are many, while in and about 
Barcelona there are extensive cotton mills. In other places the making of silk and paper 
are thriving industries. In addition to all these occupations there are large numbers of 
men and women employed in factories for making tobacco, fire-arms and gunpowder, 
which last are controlled altogether by the government. 


PORTUGAL. 

I T is a stange fact that tourists go all the way around Portugal,— to France, Spain, 
and to Italy—but leave this tiny kingdom of the Iberian peninsula unvisited ; and yet 
travelers who have been there are enthusiastic in praise of its beautiful scenery and 
interesting places. Lisbon, from the Tagus, is compared to the majestic city of 
Constantinople, to Genoa, and is even said to be as fair and queenly as Naples, of which 
Goethe said that no man who remembered seeing it could be perfectly miserable. From 
the tops of the hills, “ crowned by castle, cloister and cathedral,” its houses, “ built of 
creamy, marble-like sandstone, terrace the hill-sides, forming a stately staircase, down 
which Lisbon steps as a queen to the water’s edge. The tiled fronts of the houses— 
which, seen nearer make one think of patchwork bed-quilts hung out to air—in the 
distance flash back the sunshine from their glazed surfaces like so many great gems ” 
among domes and cupolas, church towers and palace fa9ades. If some of the enchant¬ 
ment is lost after you have landed, surely there is full compensation in interesting sights. 
“ The mountainous streets wind and climb, criss-cross, angle, and lose themselves in 
labyrinthine tangles, blind alleys or pleasant squares ; ” the balconies of the houses 



Lisboti. 


21 I 


are draped with bright rugs or gay shawls and overhung by parti-colored awnings. 
“ The people live much upon the street; the houses of the poor open to it, and from the 
narrow sidewalk there is a full view of the home life. In the more elegant quarters the 
wistaria droops in purple festoons over the balustrades which edge the roof, while spots 
of rosy pink or vivid scarlet tell of blossoming oleanders or cacti, for the roof of one 
row of houses often forms its own garden, or that of the houses upon the next terrace. 
Here and there roofs of red semi-cylindrical tile project over the house fronts, suggest¬ 
ing the fluted frill of an old lady’s cap. Everywhere there is sparkling color and daz¬ 
zling light. Sometimes the tiles on the fronts of the houses form mosaics of gigantic 
figures, vases of flowers, or baskets of fruit. A prominent feature in street life are the 
Varinhos, or fish and fruit women, natives of Ovar, in the north of Portugal. They 
form a strong contrast to the native Lisbonese, by their odd peasant costume and by 
their business-like, hustling and bustling manners, and the untiring industry with which 
they run barefoot all day over the rough pavements, balancing a heavy basket of fruit 
or fish nicely upon their heads, and shrilly calling their wares as they go. In the fruit 
market these Varinhos are the huckster women, who, in a little umbrella encampment, 
sell poultry, bouquets, and heaps of apricots,—‘ eggs of the sun,’—grapes, plums, and 
purple figs ; or who, in the fish market at early morning, fill their baskets from the slimy, 
shining heaps, that the fishermen have just brought in. Their costume is a loose jacket 
and short blue stuff skirt, with a sash knotted about the hips. They are all fond of 
jewelry, and several chains or strings of gold beads, with two pairs of heavy ear-rings 
that look like two united water jars, are often seen in company with bare feet and tatters. 
Another class of people familiar in the Lisbon streets are the Gallegos. These are 
burly thick-set men with bushy black side whiskers and clean shaven upper lips. They 
are natives of Galicia and the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Portuguese, 
who feel it a degradation to bear any kinds of burdens. 

“ The public squares of the city are numerous and generally charmingly laid out, 
with a profusion of semi-tropical plants, statues, and fountains. You can scarcely walk 
in any direction without soon passing a number of chafarizes —they keep the Moorish 
name for fountains—trickling from a carved head, or iron tube set in the wall, into a 
capacious stone basin ; they are supplied from the Alcantara Aqueduct, which is con¬ 
sidered the greatest piece of bridge architecture in the world, it being eighteen miles 
long and higher than Trinity steeple in New York. Thirty Gallegos fill their casks at 
each fountain and carry water about the city to all who are not directly supplied by the 
water-works or by wells. The water carriers also form the fire department, and other 
Gallegos act as porters. These are usually men of immense strength ; a couple of them 
will carry, by means of a yoke, from which a swinging platform hangs, huge burdens of¬ 
tentimes weighing as much as half a ton.” During the day the streets are usually 
rather deserted, especially of ladies, who, after attending mass, spend the rest of their 


2 I 2 


Cities of the World. 


time in sitting by the window or occasionally doing a little needle w'ork. But at night 
Lisbon wakes up and is seen to the best advantage. The parks glitter with gas jets and 
numerous bands vie with each other in creating a crash of sound. The senhoras — 
ladies—descend from their watch-towers, in resplendent Parisian costumes, visit the 
theaters and the public gardens with the handsome Portuguese gentlemen, who, even 
on foot, have a cavalier appearance from their elegant manners, their dress and the 
enormous spurs that many wear who never mount a horse. Lisbon, devout as well as 
gay, has numerous churches and noble charities. The church and monastery of Sao 
Jeronymo, at Belem, the western suburb of Lisbon, is one of the most interesting build¬ 
ings in Portugal. Through the richly carved doorway in the great massive walls with 
their florid decorations, you enter the imposing interior. Tall, richly wrought columns 
shoot upward, supporting the vaulted roof, which has been described as so delicate 
that the immense mass of stone groining looks as light and feathery as the underside of a 
clump of palm branches. At the time it was being built, every one felt sure that the roof 
would fall as soon as the scaffolding was taken away ; the architect himself was so afraid 
his work would prove a failure that he ran away to France before the trial was made. 
The king appointed condemned criminals to remove the supports, promising pardon if 
the covering did not fall. Contrary to all expectations the roof rested securely on its 
slender piers ; the liberated felons used the scaffolding to build houses for themselves ; 
the storms and even earthquakes of four centuries have swept by the structure and still 
it stands unshaken from its delicate poise. “ Within the cloister garden great bushes of 
pink hydrangeas relieve the cool gray architecture with their brilliant color. Rose trees 
bend with ghostly white and passionate crimson blossoms. Unfamiliar flame-colored 
flowers from China, palms and ferns, vines and shrubs, are grouped in hot-house profu¬ 
sion within the low hedges of trimly-cut box.” This ancient monastery is now used for 
an orphans’ school, called the Casa Pia. In the old refectory, hung wuth portraits of 
tlie kings of Portugal and wainscoted with tiles representing the history of Joseph, is now 
the dining-room, and around the long, low tables five hundred or so of happy, intelli¬ 
gent-looking boys gather for every meal. Although “ charity scholars, educated at the 
government expense, they are not only taught the ordinary branches with the addition 
of French and English, but are allowed to make choice of a trade, and after this is 
learned, to leave the institution with a new suit of clothes and a set of tools as an out¬ 
fit. The little beds in the well-ventilated, pleasant dormitories are clean and sweet, the 
food nourishing, and in the upper cloisters ” an American visitor saw the bathing 
suits in which the boys frolicked on the beach laid out to dry in the sun. On the sea¬ 
shore, not far from the monastery, stands the Tower of Belem, which, though built in 
1495, is wonderfully fresh and perfect. The great crosses of the Order of Christ, bla¬ 
zoned on the shields which faced the battlements, show like a narrow edge of embroidery 
from below, and the wliole edifice is singularly light and graceful for a fortress against 


Oporto. 


213 


pirates and a military prison, whose delicate watch towers, hanging in mid-air on the 
corners of the building, have stood centuries of storm as unshaken as its foundations 
have resisted the “relentless smiting of the waves.” 

Many relics of Lisbon’s former greatness are to be seen in the city. “ The roofless, 
vine-grown arches, the broken ribs of the once noble vault ” of the old Carmo church are 
“ a most striking monument to the power of the great earthquake of 1755 which shook 
the city to its foundations ; ” in one of its chancels is the Archaeological Society’s Mu¬ 
seum ; but “ the true museums of Lisbon are the curiosity shops,” with their motley 
stock of things curious, old and beautiful; “ more directly connected with the known 
Portuguese history is a collection of antique royal carriages of tattered and tottering but 
still pompous relics of former pageants that bring back vividly the epochs of the men 
they served.” Among them are “ two queer pickle-jar arrangements on wheels that are 
used by the image of the Virgin when on holy-days she takes an airing in festal pro¬ 
cessions. Chief of these religious carnivals is the festival of Corpus Christi. On this 
occasion St. George—a Gallego in a suit of armor—parades the street upon a handsome 
horse, and the king is obliged to follow on foot and bare-headed. But it is in the north 
of Portugal that religious fetes are to be seen at their best; ” in Lisbon the popular en¬ 
thusiasm reaches to its height in the bull-fights. “ A Portuguese bull-fight is a very 
different affair from the disgusting and brutal national sport in Spain ; neither bulls nor 
horses are killed, and the fighters run very little risk, as cylinders ending in wooden 
knobs cover the animal’s horns and it can only inflict a knock-down blow, instead of 
piercing and tearing. This seems, of course, very tame to the Spaniards, but the Lis- 
bonese revel in the sport,” and make it a very brilliant entertainment. “ Royalty honors 
the scene by attendance, and the beauty and fashion of Lisbon shine in full opera dress 
in the upper boxes, their white elbows resting on richly embroidered silk shawls which 
drape the boxes in front in graceful folds,” while the most elegant and accomplished 
sons of nobility are often the principal figures in the ring. 

Throughout the narrow, crooked and badly-paved old part in the eastern portion as 
well as in the more stately New Town, Lisbon has many churches and chapels, monas¬ 
teries, homes and hospitals, numerous educational and scientific institutions, libraries and 
museums ; and among the industries there are extensive shipbuilding docks, powder 
mills and arsenals, and factories where quantities of silk, porcelain, paper, soap, and 
other things are made ; and along the busy docks the vessels are loaded with oranges, 
citrons, wool, oil and leather, chiefly for the foreign markets of Great Britain 
and Africa. There are about two hundred and fifty thousand people in the 
capital, which is a little more than twice as many as live in the largest Portuguese 
seaport, Oporto. This is “ an oddly gabled city with many balconied fafades; 
gleaming now bizarre, now pure white, among the trees in irregular terraces that 
stretch along the Douro as far as the eye can reach ; high, narrow houses shoulder each 


214 


Cities af the World. 


other steeply up the hill, crowding, overhanging, and grudging every foot of the tortuous 
streets that zigzag among them or plunge precipitately like torbid torrents into the river. It is 
a city of contrasts. Rickety, toppling structures, swarming with life, look into the spa¬ 
cious arched corridors, and shaded gardens of a handsome palacio ; smart and modern 
buildings ablaze with gaudy colored tiles press the crenellated wall of a time-blackened 
line of fortifications. In the background tower the slender campanile of the Torre dos 
Cterigos —Tower of the Clergy—and the pretentious dome of the Crystal Palace. The 
suspension bridge throws its delicate arch across the gorge of the Douro, and the ship¬ 
ping files in the mouth of the river. Crowds of gayly dressed peasants swarm the quay, 
and little boats ply from either shore. It is a scene of infinite variety and animation, 
for the Douro is Oporto’s principal thoroughfare, where the little bizarre, gondola-like 
boats, with their stout oarsmen or oarswomen, row you where you want to go.” The port 
is always well filled with craft—“steamers and sailing-vessels bound for Brazil, or just 
in with codfish from the Banks, queer fishing craft from the coast, feluccas with lateen 
sails, flat caiques from the bar, and galleys—some of them with double banks of oarsmen 
in ancient style—from the vinelands. They wait at the foot of the Queen’s Stairs, 
with idle, flapping sails, while the procession of market-women ready for home troop 
down the broad flight of stone steps, with nests of empty crates forming high columns 
upon their heads. Women engaged in coaling ships trot briskly up and down with sooty 
baskets, and the sinewy arms of many others often pass their brother oarsmen or give 
them a close race. The Serra Convent— 

‘ Half church of God, 

Half castle ’gainst the Moor,'* 

looks down upon this busy scene from its high eyrie of numerous unoccupied buildings. 
The Douro is like the people of its great city ; it is strong, wild, and turbulent, and 
though forced to serve the interests of commerce and manufacture, its riotous disposition 
shows itself in sudden freshets, like the passionate outbreak of opinion among the factory 
operatives and lower orders of the city, who, for the most part are engaged in the silk and 
glove factories, the linen, wool and cotton mills, or the large places that make tobacco 
and segars, and earthen ware and leather. Oporto is abundantly supplied with water 
by means of public fountains, around which, as at Lisbon, interesting groups are formed 
of picturesque women and brawny men, who gossip and wrangle while awaiting the slow 
filling of their water pots and casks : ” and the streets of this city are as interesting in 
their way as those of the capital. “ There is not so much elegant sauntering, but the 
people seem to have the art of blending enjoyment with business. Oporto is a commer¬ 
cial city more than any thing else. Its palaces are those of merchants, and have an air of 
newness and of modern improvements. Enterprise is the order of the day. New build- 


Oporto. 


215 


ings are constantly springing up, and there is scarcely a quarter to be found where the 
clink of the trowel and the sharp blow of the hammer are not heard. The citizens have 
a busier and more energetic air than those of Lisbon. The spirit of trade pervades all 
classes ; the children even barter their toys, and boast of their good bargains. The 
markets have far more of a provincial character than those of Lisbon,” and to a 
stranger they are full of endless amusements, as he “ wanders among the booths and 
tables, and admires the types of magnificent womanhood always there. All through the 
market the women are busy, filling the intervals of trade with spinning or some other 
useful employment. The poultry sellers have pigeons and partridges, in rustic cages 
formed of sticks thrust into two round pieces of cork ; and noisy ducks, protruding their 
necks through the wire netting stretched across their baskets.” Then there is the onion 
booth, with its braided clusters of enormous red bulbs ; the pottery merchant, with his 
display of gayly painted plaques and vases, while “ skirting the principal market, like an 
outlying line of fortifications, stand the ox-carts which have brought in the fruits and 
vegetables of the farmers. The ornamental carved yoke of the oxen is a flat board 
pierced with a tracery, often reminding one of Moorish lattice-work, and often colored 
in the same oriental fashion. A favorite resort in evenings, is the finely laid-out 
park adjoining the Crystal Palace, where bands and fireworks rend the air with imita¬ 
tion thunder and lightning.” The Crystal Palace was raised for an exhibition building 
and is a fine one for its purposes ; fairs and various different amusements are now held 
in it. “ Characteristic evening spectacles at Oporto are the funerals, which always take 
place at night. Attendants run beside the hearse carrying links, forming a ghastly and 
insufficient torch-light procession. At the church the coffin is laid upon a bier in the 
center of the nave and draped with a heavy pall. When the funeral is that of a person 
of wealth, tall waxen tapers are handed by the beadle to every one who enters the church, 
and lines of choir boys extending from the altar to the main entrance chant with their 
clear youthful voices the service for the dead.” The Cathedral is one of the oddest 
pieces of architecture in the world, with its “ ugly serpents, griffins and other Gothic 
hobgoblins that climb and leer from every cranny. Extraordinary blue tiles face the 
walls of the cloisters within, from the pavement to the upper story, and depict most 
amazing scenes from the Song of Solomon.” Besides these places of interest there are 
several hospitals and a good many other fine institutions that are among the best in the 
kingdom. This is the second, and after Lisbon the only real important city of Portugal. 
It has about a hundred and ten thousand people, nearly the size of Jersey City, New 
Jersey—and deals a great deal in wine, especially port, which takes its name from the 
city, and makes it full of extra life and activity during the vintage season. Much of this 
cargo and the other shipments from Oporto are carried in vessels made in its own ship¬ 
yards, which send out famously fast sailers. 


ITALY. 


^ • yV LL persons who travel at all visit Italy. No other country combines so many 
Xx attractions, or speaks so many different voices of invitation.” The greatness of that 
country is not in population, commerce or industry ; it is the greatness of beauty and art. 

“ A land 

Which was the mightiest in its old command, 

And is the loveliest, and must ever be 

The master-mold of Nature's heavenly hand ; 
*:):***** 

Fair Italy, 

Thou art the garden of the world, the home 
Of all Art yields, and Nature can decree.” 

In all ages, poets and painters have celebrated the charms of this fair land ; every trav- 
eler feels the spell, and turning his face toward Italy, first goes, as a matter of course, to 
Rome. This is beyond any other in the world a city of art and artists. There are end¬ 
less numbers of museums and collections, churches, chapels, palaces, and magnificent 
ruins and every other facility for the study of art. Here on the banks of the yellow 
Tiber there are two cities ; the Christian capital of a new nation lies beside and even 
above the Rome of the Caesars and the emperors which once ruled the world. The city 
rests on the seven ancient hills and several other heights or promontories rising out of 
the plateau, which was once the beautiful verdant Campagna, but is now a great sandy 
waste in the midst of which a living and a dead city lie side by side. Modern Rome lies on 
both the west and the east bank of the Tiber, the larger part of it being on the east side 
and in the valley of the old Campus Martius, and stretching along the slopes of the Capi- 
toline, Esquiline, Viminal and Quirinal hills ; the Palatine, Aventine and Coelian, the re¬ 
mainder of the original Seven Hills, lie to the south-eastward and are in the partially 
deserted district of “ Old Rome,” surrounded and partially covered with the magnificent 
remains of the classic city.* Both cities lie within the present walls which make a circuit 
of fourteen miles. Only a little more than one-third of the five and a half square miles 
thus inclosed is occupied by houses, streets and squares ; gardens and vineyards cover 
the rest. But these are gradually being encroached upon, for Rome, the eternal 
city, once more become the capital of a great state, is now rapidly growing. The river 
which is spanned by five bridges is now a turbid choked-up stream at Rome, taking a 


* For description of ancient Rome, see “ Great Cities of the Ancient World. 



Rome, 


217 


zig-zag course, from north to south. The main part of the new city, and all of the old, 
stretches beyond its eastern shore. One of the principal entrances to Rome is the Por^a 
del Popido, or Gate of the People, in the northern wall. “ The Gate itself, although 
designed in part by Michael Angelo, is not particularly noticeable, but the Piazza del 
Popiilo, upon which it opens, is an imposing square covering three or four acres. In the 
center rises the noble obelisk of Rhameses, with a fountain at its base having four rounded 
basins radiating from a common center like the leaves of a stalk of four leafed clover,— 
a stream of water gushing into each basin from the mouth of a lioness carved in stone. 
The sides of the piazza are crescent shaped, with a fountain in the center of each, adorned 



BRIDGE OF ST. ANGELO, AND THE BORGO. 

with a colossal marble statue ; it is bounded on the right by a row of trees,—behind which 
are some of the finest private residences in Rome,—and on the left, by the sloping and 
terraced walks which lead to the heights of the Monte Pincio. Opposite the gate rise 
the domes of two churches exactly alike in size and form and making the point from 
which the three principal streets of Rome branch out. The Corso in the center leads 
southward to the capitol, beyond which lies the site of the Forum, and ancient Rome ; 
the Babuino, on the east, or left, leads to the Piazza di Spa^na and the English quarter ; 
the Ripetta on the right, leads by one westward turn to the Castle of St. Angelo and St. 




























2 i 8 


Cities of the World. 


Peter’s across the river. Each of these avenues leads to a multitude of interesting places; 
but the narrow Corso, a mile in length, lined with balconies in front of shops, palaces and 
private houses, is chief among all. It is the finest street in Rome. Grand old palaces, 
handsome churches and many other buildings of mingled ancient and modern architect¬ 
ure, with innumerable numbers and styles of balconies, line the famous streets on both 
sides, while here and there it broadens into a piazza, or is met by a side street which also 
leads to a chapel, gallery or some other great monument of beauty and time. Just 
beyond the end of the Corso, the Via della Pedacchia turns to the right, and ends in the 
sunny open space at the foot of the Capitol. An immense flight of steps where the 
famous staircase to the Temple of Jupiter used to stand, leads up the hill. At its foot 
are two lions of Egyptian porphyry, and at its head are colossal statues of the twin 
heroes, Castor and Pollux, and beyond are other statues and precious relics of Imperial 
Rome. Above the grand staircase is the spacious piazza where Brutus harangued the 
people after the murder of Julius Caesar. In the center of the square is the famous 
statue of Marcus Aurelius, the most perfect ancient equestrian statue in existence. You 
can still see the traces of the gilding with which it was covered when it stood in front of the 
Arch of Septimius Severus. At the back of the piazza a double staircase leads to the 
palace of the Senator, and all about are statues and fountains, with which modern Rome 
has been embellished from the ruins of her glorious mother-city. 

On either side of the Senators’ Palace are the handsome lofty palaces built by 
Michael Angelo and filled with choice collections ; from the center rises the square^ 
majestic Tower of the Capitol, from which there is a magnificent view “not only of the 
City of the Seven Hills, but the various towns and villages of the neighboring plain and moun¬ 
tain which one after another fell under its sway.” To the south-west is the Tarpeian Rock 
with the Mamertine Prison, and the Temple of Vesta beyond on the bank of the river ; fur¬ 
ther toward the south, with many historic churches and picturesque ruins between, is the 
Aventine Hill; beyond that are the remains of the old Servian wall and the Protestant 
Cemetery with its ancient pyramid of Caius Cestius, built in the present wall, and eastward 
of this the ruins of Caracalla’s Baths—the finest ever built—while nearer by the ancient 
Forum Romanum, the great center of Imperial and Republican life, lies between the 
Capitol and the Palatine Hill, with its massive fluted columns and rich capitals solitary 
and dismantled, towering above a few mean unsightly palaces set amid the rubbish of 
ages. At the further end it leads to that most noble skeleton of bygone magnificence, 
the Coliseum. If we were travelers we would linger here ; the Palatine Hill lies on the 
west, and the Coelian on the south, while eastward extends the once beautiful plain where 
the Roman villas lay, which have never since been equaled, and are even now awe¬ 
inspiring in their remains of stateliness and beauty. What was once the Baths of Titus 
stand near the Coliseum on the north-east. This circuit covers “ Old Rome ; ” to the 
northward is the Esquiline Hill, and next to that the Capitoline, which with the Quirinal 


Rome. 


219 



some distance above and the Viminal, have buried their desolation under a living city. 
The most notable thing now on the Quirinal is the Royal Palace, which has been called one 
of the largest and ugliest buildings in the 
world. It was originally a papal palace, begun 
by Pope Paul IV., and continued by a long 
line of his successors ; but is now the resi¬ 
dence of the royal family. Between the foot 
of the Capitol and the river is the Ghetto, or 
the Jews’ Quarter, which was once cut off 
from the rest of the city, and the loathsome 
place where all the Hebrews of Rome were 
compelled to live. None could appear out¬ 
side unless the men were in yellow hats, or 
the women in yellow veils ; and although 
almost all the intolerant restrictions have now 
been removed the life of the Jews in Rome 
is far from independent. The quarter, which 

is entered by eight gates, is entirely made the capitol. 



up of narrow, crooked and dark 
streets, small squares, tall houses, 
moldy and sometimes half-decayed, 
with here and there the seven- 
branched candlestick carved on the 
walls ; remains of ancient palaces— 
and shops. Shops are without num¬ 
ber ; every thing may be obtained 
in the Ghetto ; behind these heaps, 
out of which the women sew all that 
is capable of being sewn, are 
precious stones, lace, furniture of 
all kinds, rich embroidery from Al¬ 
giers and Constantinople, striped 
stuffs from Spain—but all is con¬ 
cealed and under cover. The Jew 
shop-keepers hiss at you, Cosa cercate 
as you thread their narrow alleys, 
trying to induce you to bargain with 
PYRAMID OF CAius CESTius. them. The same article is often 

passed on by mutual arrangement from shop to shop, and meets you wherever you go. On, 









220 


Cities of the World. 


Friday evening all shops are shut, and bread is baked for the Sabbath, all merchandise is 
removed, and the men go to the synagogue and wish each other ‘ a good Sabbath ’ on 
their return. The Ghetto is divided into five districts or parishes, each of which rep¬ 
resents a particular race, whose fathers have been either Roman-Jewish from ancient 
times, or have been brought hither from Spain and Sicily.” Everywhere it teems with 
life and dirt. '* The people sit in their doorways, or outside in the streets, which do not 
get much more light than the damp and gloomy chambers—and grub amid their old 
trumjiery or patch and sew diligently.” As you walk through these close muddy by-ways 



THE COLISEUM BV MOONLIGHT. 

“ the whole world seems to be lying about in countless rags and scraps. The frag¬ 
ments lie in heaps before the doors, they are of every kind and color—gold fringes, scraps 
of silk brocade, bits of velvet, red patches, blue patches, orange, yellow, black or white, 
torn, old, slashed and tattered pieces, large and small. Here sit the daughters of Zion, at 
work of mending, darning and fine drawing. It is chiefly in the Fiumara, the street lying 
lowest and nearest to the river, and in the street corners that this business is carried on by 
men as well as women, girls and children,—pale, stooping, starving figures, with misery 








Rome. 


221 


staring from the tangled hair and complaining silently in the yellow brown faces,” which 
have not even a trace of beauty. “ The women have such great skill in mending and 
repairing garments that their services are in demand all over the city ; many of them 
spend their time in finer kinds of needle work and beautiful lace work, so rich and 
massive that it seems to have been carved rather than wrought. The lower streets of 
the Ghetto, especially the Fiumara, are every year overflowed during the spring rains and 
melting of the mountain snows, which makes great misery and distress. Yet in spite of 
this and of the teeming population crowded into narrow alleys, there was less sickness 
here during the cholera than in any other part of Rome ; and malaria,” which drives peo¬ 
ple from their homes every summer in almost every other part of the city, “ is unknown 
here. This may be due to the Jewish custom of whitewashing their dwellings at every 
festival.” On the south the Ghetto faces the Island of the Tiber ; this having been the 
site of several important buildings of ancient Rome and the scene of some notable his¬ 
torical events, it has more interest in the past than the present. Beside the picturesque 
remains of earlier towers and castle, the Island is now occupied by the Church and Con¬ 
vent of St. Bartholomew, which stands in the center, with a broad piazza in front decor¬ 
ated with statues and pillars, and the Hospital Ben fratelli opposite. Near here a nar¬ 
row lane leads to the end of the Island, where there is a little quay littered with 
fragments of ancient temples from which a very interesting view of the river and its 
bridges is to be had. A bridge of one large and two small arches connects the Island 
with the quarter of Rome called the Trastevere^ or city across the Tiber,”—“ which is 
almost unaltered from medieval times, and whose narrow streets are still overlooked by 
many ancient towers, gothic windows and curious fragments of sculpture.” The 
people who live here “ differ in many respects from those on the other side of the 
Tiber. They pride themselves on being bom Trasteverini, profess to be the direct 
descendants of the ancient Romans, seldom intermarry with their neighbors, and 
speak a dialect peculiarly their own. It is said that their dispositions also differ 
from the other Romans; that they are a far more hasty, passionate and revenge¬ 
ful, as they are a stronger and more vigorous race. They are very fond of keeping up 
their old national games, especially the morra. This is a game played by the men ; consists 
in holding up, in rapid succession, any number of fingers they please, calling out at the 
same time the number their antagonist shows. Simple and even dull as this seems 
to us, the Trasteverini play it with such eagerness and violence that they get terribly 
excited, and when disagreements come up, and they must from the rapidity with which the 
game is played, the men are in a perfect frenzy and often end their dispute with murder. 
The buildings in this quarter are among the most interesting in Rome, especially the 
church and convent of the sweet virgin saint, Cecilia; the immense Hospital of St. Michele. 
.•\t the upper end of the Via Lungareiia, which runs across this quarter from the river, 
is the Church of St. Maria in Trastevere, which is said to be the first church in Rome, 


222 


Cities of the World. 


dedicated to the Virgin and contains a great deal that is both beautiful and interesting. 
Above this quarter of the sons of ancient Rome lies the Janiculan, “ the steep crest of a hill 
which rises abruptly on the west bank of the Tiber.” Between them runs a section of 
the ancient Aurelian wall, with the Porta Setthniana, on the site of the gardens of Sep- 
timius Severus, and at the head of the Via Lungara, a street which is three-fourths of a 
mile long and occupies the whole length of the valley between the Tiber and the Janicu¬ 
lan. On one side stand the villa and gardens of the Farnesi/ia, a sixteenth century 



IN THE FORUM, LOOKING TOWARD THE CAPITOL, 
residence, which the Duca di Ripalda now owns with all its treasures and famous Raf- 
faelle frescoes. Opposite, on the western side of the Lungara is the Corsini Palace, where 
Queen Christiana of Sweden lived in the latter part of 1600, and gathered about her 
some of the finest collections that have ever been in the city ; although the present pic¬ 
ture gallery and magnificent library, with all the other Corsini collections, have been 
founded since the queen’s death. The Corsini Gardens extend over the Janiculan to 







Rome. 


223 



the present wall ; above the western end is the Villa Lante, and around on many sides 
are other old buildings and celebrated churches partly or wholly in ruins. Further on is 
the Torlonia museum, containing a magnificent collection of sculpture, which has been 
formed within the last thirty or forty years and is beautifully arranged in seperate cabinets. 
From several places on the top of this hill, especially near the northern end, where 
the Church of St. Onofrio stands, the view of Rome is lovely. The garden of the con¬ 
vent attached to this church is a “ lovely plot of ground fresh with running streams ; near 
a picturesque group of cypress are remains of the oak planted by Torquato Tasso, the 
great Italian poet who died here in 1595. ” 

One of the principal entrances of the Catacombs is on the Janiculan. These under¬ 
ground passages extend in almost every direction, and cross each other like the 
streets of a town. How this subterranean 
net-work came to be here, it is not known, 
only guessed ; they have probably been for 
ages. They are principally connected with 
the early Christians, but long before their 
time it is said that they were the secret 
dwellings of thieves and outlaws. In some 
gardens adjoining the Appian Road, about 
two miles from Rome, is the entrance to the 
most celebrated of the catacombs. A flight 
of steps leads down to an oblong chamber 
with an arched doorway. Galleries about 
eight feet high and five feet wide branch 
out with twists and turns in all direc¬ 
tions, damp and black in their darkness, 
the passages often broadening into wide 
and lofty chambers, containing tombs, 
inscriptions, and even frescoes on the tombs, in the catacombs. 

walls, and when examined by the light of a torch are seen to have been made by the 
Christians during the persecutions of the Church. 

At the head of the Janiculan, within its own wall, and off the north-westerly angle of 
the Tiber, is the Borgo, or Leonine city, wherein are great St. Peter’s and the Castle of 
St. Angelo. These walls, ten thousand eight hundred feet in circumference, were begun 
in 846 by Pope Leo IV., to defend St. Peter’s against the Saracens, and, being finished, 
were consecrated six years later, “ by avast procession of the whole Roman clergy, bare¬ 
footed, with their heads strewn with ashes.” In about the center of this inclosure is the 
basilica of St. Peter, the most famous church in Christendom. From afar its great 
dome attracts the eye, and under its enormous wings the whole city seems gathered ; 



224 


Cities of the World. 


but nearer by it are the surroundings that attract your attention more than the church, 
itself. Going toward it from the east, with the minor church and a great hospital on either 
hand, at the end of the Piazza Rusticucci, is the opening of the magnificent semi-circu¬ 
lar colonnades, which branch out from the palace-like facade and majestic dome of the 
mighty church. The colonnades are supported by four rows of columns, inclosing space 
enough between the two inner rows for two carriages to pass abreast, and are like two 
sickles, some one says, with the straight galleries uniting them to the facade of the church 
for handles. Including the column and the sculptured entablatures above them, these 
porticos are sixty-four feet high, and yet every thing is so well proportioned in correspond¬ 
ing colossal size that “ from the center of the Piazza, the whole effect is light, airy and 
graceful ; under any circumstance it never seems crowded, and never desolate. 
The center of the piazza, or the vast space thus inclosed, is marked by a red 
granite monument called the Obelisk of the Vatican. This was brought to Rome 
from Heliopolis by Emperor Caligula; it adorned the circus of Nero, and in 
1586 was placed in front of St. Peter’s, with the fountains on either side. There 
is no point on the piazza from which the whole of the sublime proportions of the 
dome can be seen ; and as you walk across the long stretch of pavement, fresh with the 
“ silver spray of glittering fountains,” the lofty fa9ade with its two stories and attic, its 
windows and nine heavy balconies, “ awkwardly intersecting the Corinthian columns 
and pilasters,” is not majestic and imposing, but just bunglingly big. A broad flight of 
steps that lead up to the five entrances of the vestibule are adorned with statues ; the 
central door is of bronze, made for the old basilica that stood here in the first half of the 
fifteenth century. From the loggia above the pope gives the Eastern benediction. “ The 
vestibule is a noble and spacious building in itself. Standing in the middle, a vista in 
architecture of more than two hundred feet, on either hand, is open to the eye, set with 
pieces of statuary or mosaics, while in front the heavy double curtain separates you 
from the interior. Beyond the curtain St. Peter’s is “ resplendent in light, magnificence 
and beauty, one of the noblest and most wonderful works of man.” The nave does not 
seem over six hundred feet long and four hundred feet high, and it is only as you go 
through it step by step that you half realize its actual beauty and extent. The grand 
central nave, with its arcades on either side, and its noble roof, is shaped like a semi¬ 
circular vault, coffered and gilded ; and below it, the pavement is inlaid with colored 
marble, and on all sides there seems no limit to the number and the beauty of the 
statues and ornaments. The most sacred spot in the church is the tomb of St. Peter, at 
the foot of a double flight of steps, leading from the ground floor. Attached to the 
balustrade, a circle of eighty-six golden lamps is always burning above the tomb and 
close to the high altar, which, except on most solemn occasions, when the pope celebrates 
the mass, is never used but kept covered with a bronze and gilded ornamented canopy 
called the Paldacchino, an unsightly thing, beneath the truly glorious canopy of the 



sistjxl: chapel. 


























































































































226 


Cities of the Tf^or/d. 

cupola. Under this majestic vault, “ with the tribune before us, and the transept on 
either hand, we are face to face with the sublime genius of Michael Angelo ; ” it is the 
Mount Olympus in a world of art, for all around the main body of the church are side 
chapels, splendid in themselves, filled with pictures and statuary and any of them large 
enough to serve for an independent church. The dome of St. Peter’s is double ; and 
between the outer and inner wall is a series of winding passages and staircases, by which the 
top is reached, while the visitor is continually filled with fresh wonder over this great edifice. 
“ From the galleries inside the view of the interior below is most striking,” like a world of 
tiny people moving among miniature images men and women are half lost in immeasur¬ 
able depths of architecture, almost impossible to believe, for the ascent has been made very 
gradually on the paved incline. Thereof of the church is like a small village with its domes 
and workmen’s houses ; its broad walks, a playing fountain and many other signs of life. 
Here are the two cupolas that flank the fapade and five smaller ones, crowning the 
chapels “ like dwarfs clinging about a giant’s knee.” There is a railway—unseen from 
below—running around the base of the ball on top of the great dome, which in a short 
time affords a wonderful view of Rome; and “ the Campagna, the Tiber, the distant 
Mediterranean, the Apennines, the Alban Sabine hills, and the isolated bulk of Soracte.” 
Even above this the interior of the ball may be ascended, and still further an outside 
ladder leads to the dizzy height at the foot of the cross. Adjoining St. Peter’s on the 
upper side is the Vatican, entered through the magnificent Sca/a Regia, or Royal 
Staircase, probably the finest in the world. Beyond the Swiss guard in the quaint 
picturesque uniform designed for them by Michael Angelo, at the great bronze doors 
lies the Sistine Chapel, celebrated the world over for the frescoes of Michael Angelo. 
The Vatican comprises the palace of the pope, a library and a museum, and is said to 
contain eleven thousand apartments. The small portion occupied by the pope is 
plain and in all things lonesome and unprincely ; but the museum of art is the finest in 
the world, in sculpture surpassing all other collections put together, as it outrivals every 
gallery in containing among its paintings the greatest works in fresco of those two 
masters, superlative Raffaelle and Michael Angelo. The Vatican gardens cover almost 
one-quarter of the Borgo within the north-western wall ; it is a common saying in Rome 
that the Vatican with its gardens and St. Peter’s occupies as much space as the city of 
Turin. The broad street that leads to the castle of St. Angelo, leads to the St. Angelo 
bridge also, and so away from the solemn to the busy and lively Rome once more. “ The 
castle of St. Angelo is but the skeleton of the magnificent tomb that was built by the 
Emperor Hadrian, because the last niche in the imperial mausoleum of Augustus 
was filled when the ashes of Nerva were laid there.” Between the Tiber and the 
Corso, the most interesting place is the Piazza Navona, an irregular shaped square about 
eight hundred and fifty feet long and one hundred and eighty in width, with an 
immense fountain in the center, and several others standing about, out of which the 


Rome. 


227 



pure and abundant water gushes, which is so important a feature of all Rome. Once 
a week a vegetable market is held in this Piazza attended by the country people 
from the neighborhood in their picturesque costumes. Shops and stalls for the sale 
of all sorts of second hand articles fill every available space and display quantities 
of broken pottery, old iron, and a great variety of other trash, among 
more pretentious stores. These make little effort toward outside show, but within con¬ 
tain great bargains in pictures, engravings, 
cameos, antique gems and such things. On 
Saturdays and Sundays in the month of August 
the sluices which carry off the waters of the 
great fountain are stopped, and all the central 
portions of the Piazza are overflowed to the 
depth of one or two feet. This temporary lake 
is immediately the liveliest place in the vicinity ; 
horses, oxen and donkeys are driven into the 
cooling waters ; vehicles of all kinds, from the 
stately coach of a Roman principe to the clumsy 
wagon of a contadino, roll through them ; and 
boys with bare feet and rolled up trowsers splash 
their elders with noisy satisfaction ; while the 
outer margin of the Piazza, not reached by the 
water, and especially the capacious steps of the 
Church of St, Agnes, are occupied by crowds of 
idlers ; the windows of the shops and houses 
are filled with gay faces and bright dresses ; and 
altogether the sight is one to be marked with a 
red letter in anyone’s memory of Rome. About 
midway between the Piazza Navona and the 
Corso, with streets leading directly to each, is the 
Pantheon, the most perfect pagan building in 
the city. It was built twenty-seven years before 
Christ as a heathen temple ; but in a.d. 608 
was consecrated as a Christian church. “ Its 
majestic pillared portico and huge black rotunda, 
the labyrinthine intricacies of the modern city,” 
edifice three stories high, and crowned by a dome that has been the model of the 
best temples in the world ever since,—St. Peter’s across the river, St. Sophia’s at 
Constantinople and many others less famous. The open portico is borne by lofty 
columns and divides the temple into three naves, with great niches around the 


PEASANT CHILDREN. 

Stand almost at the central point of 
a stately, unornamented, time-stained 





228 


Cities of the World. 


walls once containing statues of different gods and goddesses. “The world has 
nothing else like the Pantheon. So grand it is that the pasteboard statues over 
the lofty cornice do not disturb the effect any more than the tin crowns and hearts, 
the dusty artificial flowers and all manner of trumpery gewgaws hanging at the saintly 
shrines. The rust and dinginess that have dimmed the precious marble on the walls ; 
the pavement, with its great squares and rounds of porphyry and granite, cracked cross¬ 
wise and in a hundred directions, showing how roughly the troublesome ages have 
trampled here ; the gray dome above, with its opening to the sky, all these things make 
an impression of solemnity, which St. Peter’s itself fails to produce.’’ 

These austere, sublime monuments of the great city are in the strongest contrast with 
the inhabitants ; the richness and splendor are vanished from the temples, but the love of 
it remains with the people. You see it in their dress and in all their customs. “ On all 
holiday occasions they hang out from their windows strips of bright-colored cloth. They 
take great pleasure in illuminations, torch-light processions, and especially in fire-works, 
—which are nowhere more perfect—even the funerals share it ; those of distinguished 
people taking place at night, illuminated by torches and attended by solemn music and 
trains of ecclesiastics.” Once a year for eleven days just preceding Ash Wednesday 
this love of gayety and show reaches a climax in the Carnival, and altogether transforms 
the Corso and streets close to it. Added to the overhanging balconies—built on purpose 
for this festival—that permanently line the lofty buildings, temporary structures of wood 
fill every available place ; thus the already narrow space—for the Corso only averages 
about thirty-five feet in width—is made still smaller. They are filled wuth gayly dressed 
and animated people, mostly women—who have secured their places at unmentionable 
prices some time before, and intend to have the full worth of their money in fun. “ The 
street below is filled by two rows of carriages slowly moving in opposite directions and 
filled with gay occupants, while there is a motley crowd on foot of men and boys, wuth a 
few' women, some with masks and some without, but all engaged in the common occupa¬ 
tion of pelting one another. Here the lowest ragamuffins in Rome or a milord from En¬ 
gland crowd each other in the utmost good nature, each perhaps with the same object in 
view of attracting the attention of the pretty young ladies in some balcony, half hidden 
among the gay streamers of red, yellow or blue that flutter among the heavier pieces of 
vivid colors comprising the balcony canopy or hanging from the windows adjacent. Most 
of the fun is in pelting one another ; for this there are three kinds of missiles. First come 
the confetti, or little pea-sized bits of lime, which are hurled by hand or with a kind of 
pea-shooter, or, when the fun grows more hilarious, are sent in little dipperfuls, while the 
gay antagonist holds a wire screen ready to protect his or her face from the return volley. 
But confetti-throwing is but the first stage of the fun, and is soon supplanted by coriandali, 
or missiles of flowers and bon-bons. For many days before the Carnival opens load after 
load of flowers are brought into the city, and with them the attentions of the Carnival 


Rome. 


229 


partakers begin. There are bouquets of all prices and description, some of them marvels 
of flower structures, often crowned with a living bird whose legs and wings are impris¬ 
oned in flowery bands. The candies are also of all varieties and qualities, sometimes 
put up in boxes and cones of gilded paper. Much of the cheap sugar plums 
with which the gay companies pelt each other “ fall upon the pavement, and are 
eagerly scrambled tor by the ingenuous youth of Rome, who dart in and out under the 
wheels of carriages and the hoofs of horses with a courage worthy of a better cause.” 
The sport begins at about two o’clock on each day, Sundays and Fridays excepted ; 
then the fast-filling balconies and the two straight lines of carriages begin to gather into 
one dense mass of animation ; some of course are only lookers-on ; but the majority are 
there for the fun, and many appear in plain dress, or in fancy or grotesque costumes, 
and borne upon all kinds of devices on wheels. Now a ship with showy sailors passes 
a rainbow-like balcony full of pretty girls ; and what a shower there is of sugar-plums and 
bouquets. One young lady by her looks or graceful movements attracts particular at¬ 
tention. “ some one cries ; “ beautiful, most beautiful,” others shout, and for a 

time the gayety of the neighborhood will center at that one particular balcony, from 
which and to which will rain and hail the greatest quantity of bouquets, bonbonnieres and 
unique favors ; while a pretty play of funny maneuvers keeps all the neighborhood in 
shouts of merriment. Then the ship sails on, an ordinary carriage, an open platform or 
a moving festival takes up the merry war, and carries it along from one balcony to an¬ 
other, or extending it to carriages on the opposite line. Nearly all are grown up men 
and women, behaving like a jolly crowd of boys and girls. At five o’clock the Corso is 
cleared for the horses, mounted dragoons appear, and the carriages turn off into the 
side streets ; after none but foot passengers are left a detachment of cavalry moves slow¬ 
ly down the Corso and returns on a brisk trot. In the Piazza del Popido, but a short time 
before filled with the brilliant equipages of the proud Romans who disdained the carnival, 
a great crowd of spectators fill the ampitheater of temporary seats and look down into 
the Corso. In front of these the horses are rearing and snorting with impatience to be 
let go. When the center of the street is cleared each horse is led up by a showily- 
dressed groom, who lets go at the given signal, and the splendid animals rush down the 
narrow Corso without any riders, goaded on by sharp pointed leaden balls in their trap¬ 
pings. The people, like a vast sea, break away before the horses and close in behind 
them, taking eager interest in the result, which is declared by the judges, who sit in the 
temporary seats in the Piazza Veneziana, when the horses bring up at the other end of 
the Corso. This closes the out-door amusement of the Carnival ; the streets become as 
quiet as usual, and the sport is continued by the peasants and lower classes and people at the 
shovis \n Xht Piazza Navona, where the beautiful square is brilliantly lighted and is 
thoroughly thronged in every part and at every booth ; but most of all at the lottery 
booths, “ for lotteries to the Italian are what opium is to the Chinaman, the strongest 


230 


Cities of the World. 


appetite of his nature.” A multitude of interesting sights, day and night, belong to the 
Carnival season ; there are the picturesque peasant dances in the city squares ; the brilliant 
receptions ; and the balls, especially the masked balls, which really ” cap the climax ” of 
the festivities. The public masked balls are given at the two principal theaters, the 
Apollo and the Costanzi, where prizes are given for the best masks ; and the scene is 
one of many beautiful faces among the grotesque false ones, graceful forms and gay 
colors, winding in and out to the sound of dance music. 

The trade of Rome is insignificant; the manufacturers are all small and supply 



BAY OF NAPLES. 

cheap, unimportant articles, such as hats, silk scarfs, gloves, artificial feathers, false pearls, 
trinkets, and other things to attract the fancy of artists and visitors. There are three hun¬ 
dred thousand people in the city, a large number of which are artists, while another great 
class are beggars. In population the Eternal City now stands third in Italy, while Naples 
takes the lead in size as it does also in beauty. A common Italian saying is, “ See Naples 
and then die,” and true it is that the earth scarcely has a more lovely scene than the white 
and terraced crescent of the city stretched along a winding coast of the magnificent sea 






Naples. 


231 


and over the spurs of a range of semi-circular hills, commanded by rugged heights ; 
fertile plains and vine-clad slopes lie around and beyond, all under the glow or solemn 
shadow of old Vesuvius. “The extieme points of the two projecting arms which in¬ 
close the bay on the north-west and south-east are about twenty miles distant from each 
other in a straight line, similar in shape and character. The southern promontory stretches 
further out to sea ; but the island of Ischia corresponds to this on the north, being much 
larger and further from the land than its southern sister Capri. The cliffs that line the tide¬ 
less shore are often crowned and draped with luxuriant vegetation ; on numberless points 
stand villas, monasteries and houses linked together by a glowing succession of orange 
groves, vineyards, orchards and gardens. Of all this fertile and populous shore, swarm¬ 
ing everywhere with life and glittering with dwellings, Naples is the core.” Although 
this is a city where “ the sun shines his brightest, and the zephyrs blow their softest; the 
sea is of the deepest blue and the mountains the most glorious purple, with the finest 
fish, sweetest fruit and best game, Naples is still an ill-built, ill-paved, ill-lighted, ill- 
drained, ill-watched, ill-governed and ill-ventilated city,” whose narrow, crowded, dirty 
streets, with scarcely any sidewalk, and only lava-paved roadways, with their balconies 
almost meeting overhead, have nothing imposing, or striking, except the smells. One 
magnificent museum contains a great collection of ancient art works and curiosities from 
Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the theater of San Carlo is said to be one of the finest 
in the world. There are several interesting ancient castles here, many palaces, more 
than three hundred churches, several colleges and libraries, and a very fine aquarium. 
But none of these are so interesting as the people of Naples, especially along the sea¬ 
shore. 

All along the quays are rows of wooden counters or tables stand covered with 
fish, oysters, and mussels, and protected from the sun by an awning slanting down 
toward the rear. Fruit, roasted chestnuts, and other things to eat are offered for sale 
by the market women in their quaint costumes. Boats, rowed by scantily dressed men 
in red caps, are constantly putting off and coming in with their loads of passengers or 
goods for the strange little chaises that roll up and down or stand about in great num¬ 
bers hitched to their small but fast going single horse. The quays, like the open squares 
and one or two of the streets that are broad enough, are filled with a moving and ever 
changing and interesting crowd. Now it is a group around some Improvisator, listening 
with delight to the ragged reciter of whole cantos of Orlando Furioso ; again it is some 
Policinella, whose antics form the attraction. Under the arcades of the Piazza del Miini- 
cipio, a “ Public Letter Writer ” is bending over his task. Notwithstanding that there 
must be some grounds for the general belief that all Neapolitans are lazy, the most reli¬ 
able travelers say that it is as busy and industrious looking as any town in Europe. Yet 
it manages to have a good many idlers ; for one thing it is over populated ; five hundred 
thousand people being more than it can keep occupied, and as their support costs next 


232 


Cities of the World. 


to nothing, very many are not at all backward in accepting a large portion of nothing 
for their allowance. These make up, not the largest class of Neapolitans, perhaps, 
but certainly the best known to foreigners,—“ careless and idle ; good natured and 
thieving; kind hearted and lying; always laughing except if thwarted, when they 
will stab their best friend without a pang.” Whole families live huddled together 
without cleanliness or decency, and the air resounds at once with blows and cries, 
singing and laughter. There are thousands who consider a dish of beans at mid¬ 
day to be sumptuous fare, while the horrible condiment called Pizza —made of dough 
baked with garlic, rancid bacon, and strong cheese—is esteemed a feast. Every one in 
the town who is not working, and as many as possible of those who are, spend the day 
in the open air, encumbering the narrow streets with their chairs, lathes, carpenters’ 
tables, or cobblers’ stalls. Every body seems to be amused, and occupies himself in 
amusing his neighbors. He feels himself to be in the happiest place in the world and 
holds a poor opinion of most other lands. The Lazzaroni, once a common sight in 
Naples, lounging about half-clad, are gone now, with many other “institutions” that 
belonged to the city before the present government. Although the new government’s 
improvements have caused some serious losses to the beauty and attraction of Naples, it 
has done considerable good too ; it has opened the noble terrace of the Corso Vittorio. 
Emanuele., where the fine Hotel Bristol stands, and a glorious view is given of the town 
and bay below. Above is the old fortress of St. Elmo, now used as a prison, and near that 
the ancient convent of St. Martin, which is now being altered for a National Museum 
and Library. Most of the better classes of Neapolitans are poor nobles, whose motto is 
“ all for show.” They are fond of bright colors in their dress ; soldiers in gay uniforms ; 
and wherever they can, Neapolitans display all the richness and splendor possible, some¬ 
times at the sacrifice of a good many everyday comforts. The nobles are often of 
worthless character, lazy, fond of gambling, and making no pretense of following a pro¬ 
fession. The manufacturing class is comparatively small, and are engaged in making 
macaroni and vermicelli, which are the principal food of the poor people in Italy, and 
are sent from Naples to all parts of the world. Among the other manufactories the 
principal things made are silk cloth, carpets, glass, perfumery, porcelain, and glass. 

Milan, the second city of Italy, is in the northern part ; it stands in the Lombard 
plain below the Alps, and is the center of the country’s inland trade. It is also a very 
pleasant city, with its broad streets lined with fine buildings on either side. Although 
it is not a desirable place of residence, as the summers are extremely warm, and the 
winters severely cold, about three hundred and fifty thousand people live here ; the 
most thickly settled part is surrounded by a canal, and outside of that, inclosing the 
suburbs, is a wall with twelve gates. The great center of interest at Milan must always 
be its glorious Gothic cathedral. It is built of brick covered with marble. One part 
after another having been added at so many different times the marble is of many 


Milan. 


233 


shades, and its walls are so covered that its great extent may best be measured by the 
roof, although even this is overpowering with “ rich ornaments, delicately carved flying 
buttresses, and a wilderness of pinnacles.” The niches and spires are occupied by 
about three thousand marble statues, making the exterior seem at a little distance “ like 
a piece of jeweler’s work magnified a million of times.” It is like being in another world 
to walk among these statues on the roof—this quiet marble assembly—this 

“ aerial host 

Of figures human and divine.” 

From the gallery of the octagon tower above there is a living picture before you of the fair 
broad plains of Lombardy, glittering with towns and villages closed in on the north and 
west by the eternal snows of the Alps. The first appearance of the interior is most strik¬ 
ing—the great height of the pillars, their exquisitely sculptured capitals, the great solem¬ 
nity and the rich effect of light which streams in from the upper windows upon the golden 
pulpits at the entrance of the choir form a picture to be revisited again and again. 
A far older church than the cathedral, and in many things the most remarkable 
in Milan, is the Church of St. Ambrogio, which is named after its founder, who 
dedicated it to All Saints in 387, The exterior, of redbrick with stone pillars and arches, 
is highly picturesque. On the north is a fine colonnaded portico, and the atrium or 
vestibule is surrounded by open arches, with ancient inscriptions, altars and fragments 
of carving filling the arcades.” Many very interesting and valuable relics and works of 
art are kept within, and besides these and the beauty of the church itself, it is famous as 
being the place where St. Augustine was baptized and where the grand and familiar 
anthem of the Te Deum was first recited by Ambrose and Augustine as they advanced 
to the altar. 

Among many other great and venerable churches in Milan, are those of St, Eustorgio, 
the beautiful Maria delle Grazie, which was built in the fifteenth century, and adjoins 
the convent, where, in the old Refectory, is the most famous picture in the world, 
the “ Last Supper ” by Leonardo da Vinci. 

Behind this church, occupying a large palace, entered on the other side, is the 
celebrated Ambrosian Library, founded in 1609 by the then Archbishop of Milan. 
Beside some of the most valuable and most ancient of vellums and manuscripts, the 
Library has a fine picture gallery of some of the old Italian masters. 

The largest gallery in the city is the Brera in an old Jesuit palace, also occupied by 
a scientific institute, a library, a museum of coins and medals and an archaeological mu¬ 
seum. 

In visiting all these and the countless other sights of Milan, the great square called 
Cathedral Square would become very familiar, and here, if any where, you would occa¬ 
sionally see “ nurses and peasant women, with the picturesque national head-dress of 
silver pins arranged in a circle like rays of the sun,” once characteristic of the city. 


234 


Cities of the World. 


Here is the entrance to the Gallery of Victor Emmanuel, which is the handsomest and 
loftiest arcade of shops in the world. The houses are eighty feet high, covered in with 
glass the entire height, and occupied by such brilliant stores and restaurants that in the 
evening when it is lighted up, and filled with people walking or sitting under the cafes, 
it looks like an immense ball-room. The other entrance is on the Piazza della Scala^ 
and faces the magnificent theater of La Scala, which is large enough to hold nearly four 
thousand people. San Carlos at Naples is the only finer one in Italy. 

Toward the westward from Milan is Turin, which though next in population to 
Rome, is said to cover less ground than the Borgo. 

Turin is now one of the most prosperous of European cities ; it is regularly built 
like an American city, with long straight streets, traversing it from end to end, and 
each at right angles with its neighbor. Many of the streets are lined with colonnades 
which form a pleasant shade from the scorching sun in summer ; those near the palace 
being a favorite resort for the fashionable people, are crowded after sunset, with stylish 
civilians and showily dressed officers. The streets, in spite of their regularity have a 
picturesqueness of their own from the richness with which the palaces are decorated, and 
the ever present arcades. While the bitter Alpine winds make it piteously cold in win¬ 
ter, in summer it is a very attractive place, especially by the river Po, among the beauti¬ 
ful wooded hills on the further bank or in the charming walks of the Public Garden, 
near the palace of II Valentino. From the station the Via Roma leads into the heart of 
the town, passing through the Piazza St. Carlo, surrounded by open colonnades filled 
with book stalls, and ending in the square occupied by the old castle of Turin, called the 
Palazzo Madama, or the palace of the Queen Mother. Its high tiled roofs are crowded 
with chimneys, rich fragments of terra cotta cornice, and four clumsy brick towers, two 
of which are somewhat modern and two very quaint and perforated with holes, which 
with the other nooks and corners are always crowded with birds. 

Behind the castle the handsome modern palace and the cathedral tower rise. The 
armory, which is one of the few places of real interest in Turin, is in the wing of the 
Palace, although the Egyptian Museum, the Pinacot^ca or picture gallery, and some of 
the other collections in the Academy of Sciences are said to be fine. “ The avenue 
along the river-side leads to the Public Gardens, where, beside the dressed walks, there is 
a park of elm and chestnut glades, with wide, green lawns undulating to the water’s side, 
and lovely views up the still reaches of the river, fringed with tufted foliage which is re¬ 
flected in its water ; or into bosky valleys and the hills on the opposite bank, with old 
turreted villas and convents rising on the different heights and looking down into the 
luxuriance of wood and vineyard lying between. Beyond all rises the great church of 
La Superga on its blue height, and pleasure-boats with white sails or striped awnings, 
give constant life to the scene. At the end of the gardens, where they melt into the 
open hay fields—completely in the country though so close to the town—the grand 


Palermo. 


235 


old Palace of II Valentino rises from the river bank. It is of rich red stone, with 
high pitched roofs, tall chimneys, and heavy cornices. In view of all this those who 
see Turin in May when the white and crimson chestnuts are in bloom, can not fail 
to call it a picture of perfect Italian loveliness.” 

In the number of inhabitants—two hundred and fifty thousand—Turin’s twin city 
in Italy is Palermo, on the northern coast of the island of Sicily. The situation of 
Palermo is wonderfully beautiful, surrounded by a vast garden of orange and olive trees 
which fill the Conca d'Oro or Golden Shell, as the lovely plain is called which is bounded 
by the red crags of Monte Pellegrino on the west, and the wooded Capo Zafferano on 
the east, and backed by Monte Griffone and other dark mountains of rugged outline. 
“ The hills on either hand descend upon the sea with long-drawn delicately broken and 
exquisitely tinted outlines.” 

“ Within the cradle of these hills and close upon the tideless water, lies the city,” 
with a few great streets running across a labyrinth of alleys. “ The main street, like all 
the main streets of Italian towns, is the Corso Vittorio Emanuele; the houses for the most 
part are stately, with bold cornices and innumerable iron balconies. The ground floors 
are almost always used for the mean-looking shops, of which the fronts, eastern fashion, 
are generally an open arch. The first floor is the piano nobile or family residence ; the 
second and third floor are usually let as lodgings ; wooden lattices, too, are often seen, 
belonging to convents frequently far in the background, but arranged to allow the nuns, 
themselves unseen,^to look down on all that is going on. Here and there a church 
breaks the line of houses, plain enough outside, but within covered with Sicilian jaspers, 
of which there are fifty-four varieties—rich to a fault.” The palaces and even more par¬ 
ticularly the churches of Palermo are very fine. 

Next in size to these come another pair of cities. Florence, in the upper part of 
central Italy and Genoa, the Mediterranean port and fortress for the north, each with 
about two hundred thousand people. 

“Of all the fairest cities of the earth, 

None is so fair as Florence 
* * * * Search within, 

Without; all is enchantment! ’Tis the Past 
Contending with the Present ; and in turn 
Each has the mastery.” 

So, many writers, in verse and in prose, have celebrated the City of Flowers and 
Botany Bay of society. Like most of the Italian cities its beauty is more in the situation 
and surroundings than the city itself. It stands at the central point in that basin of the 
Arno which extends from Arezzo to Pisa, and in the midst of a high plain with picturesque 
swells of land all about it. “ The radiant loveliness of this country renders Florence the 


Cities of tJie ]Vo7'ld. 


236 


most delightful of all Italian cities for a spring residence, and no one who has once seen 
the glorious luxuriance of the flowers which cover the fields and gardens, and lie in 
masses for sale on the broad gray basements of its old palaces, can ever forget them. 
Firenze la betla, Florence the beautiful, the Florentines call their beloved city ; nor is 
this confined to the distant view ; the walks, the gardens, the palaces, and their superb 
galleries are in themselves beautiful enough to enrich a dozen ordinary cities. The gal¬ 
leries and museums are due for 
the most part to the hledici family, 
who were the first rulers after 
Florentia —the flourishing—ceased 
to be a republic. After the 
Medici, the Austrian Grand Dukesi 
encouraged art and beauty in the 
city, so that even now, more than 
three hundred and fifty years after 
the fall of the city’s independence, 
it contains great palaces filled with 
inexhaustible treasures, suited to 
almost every taste. “Other, 
though not many, cities have his¬ 
tories as noble, treasures as vast, 
but no other city has them living 
and even present in her midst, 
familiar as household words, and 
touched by every baby’s hand and 
peasant’s step, as Florence has.’’ 
The city lies mainly on the up¬ 
per bank of the Arno ; its streets 
are generally narrow, running be¬ 
tween massive and rather gloomy 
buildings, and past church fronts, 
often unfinished. Avenues run 
along the quays, and in irreg- 
THE LEANING TOWER, PISA. uJar Stripes through the heart of the 

city. Most of the celebrated palaces are near the center of town, mainly in the vicinity 
of the famous Lung’ Arno, where the houses rising out of the river are “ bright with soft 
tints of color, irregular, picturesque, various, with roofs at every possible elevation, the 
outline broken by loggias, balconies, projecting walls, quaint cupolas and spires ; the 
stream flowing full below, reflecting the whole picture even to the clouds on the blue 































LOGGIA I)E’ LANZl. 












































































Cities of the World. 


238 

over-arching sky.” Almost on the quay is the celebrated Uffizi Palace, with its stately 
porticos and open arches toward the river, set with great Florentine heroes in marble ; 
above, story after story rises in massive stately beauty, stretching on to the Piazza of the 
Signorla, to the Vecchio Palace, with its “enormous projecting battlements and lofty 
square bell tower stuck upon the walls in defiance of proportion, partly overhanging 
them.” Uffizi is an immense palace over three hundred years old, and filled with most 
precious books, letters, and papers in the library,, paintings, statuary, and other riches in 
the corridors, halls, and, above all, in the famous Tribune. This is an eight-sided 
room, about twenty feet across. The floor is paved with rich marbles, and the vaulted 
ceiling is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The light, which comes from above, falls on some 
of the most remarkable works of art ever produced. Here are the beautiful Venus de 
Medici, the Knife Grinder, the Dancing Faun, and other sculptures known by name and 
by copies all over the world ; on the walls are hung paintings of the great masters, Raphael, 
Titian, Michael Angelo, and Correggio. The Palazzo Vecchio della Signoria was built in 
1298. A magnificent staircase leads from the court up to the vast hall in which Savona¬ 
rola met with the citizens in his earnestness to restore their ancient liberties ; from the 
tower you see the prison of the great Florentine reformer, and every step you take from 
the vestibule to the halls, through all the corridors, and even into the beautiful, solemn little 
colonnaded inner court, is upon historic ground. If you are acquainted with the city’s 
history, there is not a spot that will not remind you of the events that took place here 
during all the ages that the Signorian Palace was the center of the political life of the 
Florentines. In front of the Vecchio Palace \.h.^ sxmWi Piazza della Signoria, which is 
the center of Florentine life. Until the recent change in the Italian Government, it had 
for two hundred years been called the Grand Duke’s Square, but it is now given back its 
original name. This is like an open-air art gallery of sculpture and architecture. On 
the east is the grand old palace of the Signoria. On the south is the Loggia de' Lanzi, or 
gallery of the (Swiss) lancers who attended Cosimo I., and on the other sides are narrow 
streets and quaint buildings, with tablets marking their historical associations, while in 
the center is the great Fountain of Neptune, and hard by a grand equestrian statue of 
Cosimo I. In the Loggia, which consists of three open arches inclosing a platform raised 
by six steps above the square, stand some of the finest statues in Florence. It is a 
strange sight, these works of genius standing in the midst of the coming and going of 
all the every-day l-ife in the busiest square in Florence, which has seen many remarkable 
events beside the closing scene in Savonarola’s life. Several of the narrow, closely-built 
streets opening here reach the Diiomo —cathedral—which, westward of the Piazza della 
Signoria, stands in about the center of the city. This was begun in 1298, the same year 
as the Vecchio, to be, the builder said, “ the loftiest, most sumptuous edifice that human 
invention could devise or human labor execute.” Centuries have passed since it was fin¬ 
ished, and sometimes with a heavy hand on the great works of Florence, but even yet the 


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240 


Cities of the World. 


cathedral stands in wonderful beauty. The regular side walls are encrusted with 
precious marbles and filled with sculpture like the apse with its buttresses. 
A small dome is at the South, above which rises the largest dome in the whole world. A 
century later Michael Angelo, on his way to Rome to build St. Peter’s, looked at this 
noble work of Brunelleschi, the architect, and said. “ Like you I will not be ; better, I can 
not be.” The interior of the Cathedral is disappointing at first. The somber brown 
pillars and arches, and walls bare of enrichment or decoration seem extremely meager ; 
but by degrees you come to enjoy the simple grandeur of the broad arches and magnifi¬ 
cent dome and feel that all the color that is necessary comes in through those little jewel¬ 
like windows. At one corner of the Cathedral, stands the Campanile^ or Bell-tower of 
Giotto—the pride of the city. It is a square structure nearly three hundred feet high, 
with a heavy cornice and other striking Grecian features, in the midst of which are tier 
after tier of Gothic windows. Mr. Ruskin says this is the one building in the world 
where Power and Beauty are highly developed and combined,—“ the model and mirror 
of perfect architecture.” Across the square in front of the Cathedral and Campanile, is 
the Baptistry of St. John, which is famous for its three sets of bronze doors, one of which 
—the eastern gates—Michael Angelo said were worthy to be the gates of Paradise. They 
quite overshadow the rich mosaics on the floor and ceilings of the Baptistry, or the frescoes 
round the walls. They are not large, but the delicate and perfect workmanship of the 
little bronze figures in relief tell in bronze the stories of the Baptist. A little west¬ 
ward of the Cathedral is the Church of St. Lorenzo, interesting for its association with 
the great Medici family, and rich in the works of Michael Angelo and other masters 
of sculpture. From here one of the widest and the busiest streets in Florence runs, as 
straight as an old Italian street can so long a distance, to the Ponte Vecchio —Vecchio 
Bridge—which is the most famous of the six crossing the Arno at Florence, and leads to 
a smaller part of the city lying on the right bank of the water. The Ponte Vecchio is at 
the head of the long and broad Via Romana, which crosses this upper part of Florence, 
and lined with palaces ends at the Roman Gate in the north-eastern angle and the 
fortifications. Not far above the bridge is the huge, imposing structure of the Palazza 
Pitti. Its great fa9ade four hundred and sixty feet long is of three stories, each forty 
feet high, surmounting a basement and huge blocks of stone. There is no palace in 
Europe to compare to it for grandeur, though many may surpass it in elegance. Built 
in 1441 by the treacherous Luca Pitti fora residence, it soon passed out of his family and 
after long serving for the palace of the Grand Dukes, it has now become the property 
of the Italian government. Its chief use is as a fitting storehouse for some of Florence’s 
treasures of art, although there are apartments occasionally occupied by the King. This 
palace is connected with the Vecchio by a long passage built by the Medici in imita¬ 
tion of the passage which Homer described as uniting the palace of Hector to that of 
Priam. It was also intended as a means of escape if required ; it is now an additional 



1 


PONTE VECCHIO. 























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































242 


Cities of tJie IVorid. 


art gallery which forms a delightful walk, especially in wet weather, through a long 
avenue of art treasures that it begins and ends in a museum. Behind the Pitti Palace, 
from the Arno to the Roman Gate, extend the famous Boboli Gardens. In front of the 
palace is an amphitheater of seats, raised one above the other, whence walks, between 
clipped avenues of bay and ilex, lead to the higher ground, where are the Fountain of 
Neptune, statuary and the little meadow called C Uccellaja, from its bird snares. From the 
high places in the gardens the view of Florence makes a pleasant picture of the fair city 
to be always carried in the memory. Genoa has been called the key-note of her coun¬ 
try. “ No place is more entirely imbued with the characteristics, the beauty and the 
color of Italy. Its ranges of marble palaces and churches rise above the blue waters of 
its bay, interspersed with the brilliant green of orange and lemon groves, and backed by 
swelling mountains; it well deserves its title of Genoa the Superb.” From the rail¬ 
way from Savona you see “ the queenly city, with its streets of palaces rising tier above 
tier from the water, girdling with the long lines of its bright white houses, the vast sweeps 
of its harbor, the mouth of which is marked by a huge natural mole of rock, crowned by 
a magnificent light house tower.” 

This is the city of Columbus, the one above all other Italian cities to which we 
Americans feel the nearest. Along the edge of the port all the principal hotels are 
ranged beyond the high terrace of white marble. Many days may be spent in the city 
among its glorious palaces filled with treasures, or walking about the streets sight-seeing. 
The Jewelers’ Street is bright with shops where the Genoese coral, fantastic silver 
and gold filagree-work and many other rare and beautiful ornaments are for sale. Then 
there are the two Cathedrals and Churches of St. Matthew, the beautiful palaces, 
especially Spindla, with the frescoes in its grand entrance court, its rooms opening on the 
marble terrace ; Doria Tursi with its hanging gardens, its statuary, and mosaics, bronzes 
and statuary ; the Red Palace, containing pictures and a valuable library ; and the Balbi, 
entered by a most lovely court, inclosed by triple rows of slender columns, through which 
a brilliant orange garden is seen. This is the most comfortable and well furnished of all 
the Genoese palaces. The family live in the upper apartments, but generously allow it to 
be shown to strangers. Besides these there are many others, and as you walk along some 
of the streets—especially the Sirada Nuova and Strada Balbi —it seems as if each new 
palace is nobler than the last. Then there are other narrow streets in the strongest con¬ 
trast, with “great heavy stone balconies one above another, doorless vestibules, massively 
barred lower windows, immense public staircases ; thick marble pillars and vaulted 
chambers. The terrace Gardens lying between the houses, have their green arches 
of the vine, and groves of orange trees, and blushing oleanders in full bloom, twenty, 
thirty, forty feet above the street; the steep, uphill streets of palaces with marble terraces 
look down into close by-ways ; and a rapid passage ” carries you “ from a street of' 
stately edifices into a maze of the vilest squalor, steaming with unwholesome stenches 



CHAPEL, OF THE MEDICI AT SAN LORENZO. TOMBS OF THE LAST OF THE MEDICI 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































244 


Cities of the World. 



and swarming with half naked children.” The poorest and most populous quarter of 
Genoa is made up of “narrow alleys and tall houses, where cats can jump from roof to 
roof across the way and where only a narrow strip of blue sky shines down upon the 
darkness.” Here you see a “wonderful novelty of every thing,—jumbling of dirty 
houses, passages more squalid and close than any in St. Giles’s (London), or in Old 
Paris ; in and out of which not vagabonds, but well-dressed women with white veils and 
great fans are passing and repassing.” There is a “ bewildering vision of saints’ and 

virgins’ shrines at the street corners 
of great numbers of friars, monks and 
soldiers ; of red curtains waving at the 
door-ways of churches ; of fruit stalls, 
with fresh lemons and oranges hanging 
in garlands made of vine leaves. The 
houses are immensely high, painted in 
all sorts of colors, and are in every stage 
of damage, dirt and lack of repair. 
They are commonly let in floors or flats. 
There are but few street doors ; and 
the entrance halls are, for the most part, 
looked upon as public property.” 

Lastly among Italy’s great cities is 
Venice, the queen city of the world. 
Volumes have been written in prose and 
verse on its charms ; book after book 
has been made on its history, and thou¬ 
sands of canvasses covered with its 
scenes ; and yet there never was a gifted 
writer, a poet or a painter who felt that 
his efforts had done justice to the charm 
of Venice. I can tell you how it lies in 
a gulf, called a lagoon, in the northern 
angle of the Adriatic, spreading its pal¬ 
aces and churches over more than sixty 
THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS, VENICE 5^^^, marsh and seaweed, 

and I can tell you how it became a republic that once “lorded it over Italy, 
conquered Constantinople, resisted a league of all the kings of Christendom, long 
carried on the commerce of the world, and bequeathed to nations the model of the 
most stable government ever framed by man ; ” all this and many more things about the . 
“Sea Cybele ” may be read again and again, and yet Venice is unknown to all who have 









/ ciiicc. 


245 


never seen it and lived in it themselves. Just within the island girded lagoon, and near a 
splendid opening to the sea, something like a decanter with its neck toward the open 
water, Venice lies, a queenly city even now, after years of decay. In all directions 
without the least regularity it is threaded with narrow canals, some finding outlet in the 
lagoon, some in each other, and some in the broad Grand Canal, which sweeps with 
many stately curves like an S reversed through the center of the city, from the railway 
station on the western limit to a great arm of the lagoon on the south. The salt waves 
of the Grand Canal lap against the marble steps of the railway station, and outside the 
portico no demonstrative hackmen are clamoring to rattle you through the streets of the 
city ; but like a row of sable hearses, innumerable black gondolas are waiting to float you 
off into the green water. 

Your senses grow be¬ 
wildered by the lights 
above and below, the 
dense shadows from 
great buildings on the 
brink, or the grave-like 
darkness of the small 
canals, the splashing of 
an oar or a song or the 
weird cries of the gon¬ 
doliers, being the only 
sounds you hear. By 
and by all these things 
become familiar, and 
losing their wonder 
strengthen their charm. 

The heart of Venice 
is the Place of St. 

Mark. Of all the open 
spaces in the city that before the church of St. Mark alone bears the name 
of Piazza, and the rest are called merely campi, or fields. “ It is a great piazza on 
whose broad bosom is a palace more majestic and magnificent in its old age than all the 
buildings of the earth, in the high prime and fullness of their youth. Cloisters and galleries 
—so light, they might be the work of fairy hands ; so strong that centuries have battered 
them in vain. At no great distance from its porch, a lofty tower, standing by itself, looks 
out upon the Adriatic Sea. Near to the margin of the stream are two ill-omened pillars 
of red granite ; one having on its top a figure with a sword and shield ; the other a 
winged lion. Not far from these again a second tower, more richly decorated and 



THE GRAND CANAL. 


















246 


Cities of the World. 


sustaining aloft a great orb, gleaming with gold and deepest blue ; the twelve signs of the 
Zodiac painted on it, and a mimic sun revolving in its course around them ; while above 
two bronze giants hammer out the hours on a sounding bell. An oblong square of lofty 
houses of whitest stone, surrounded by a light and beautiful arcade, forms part of this 
enchanted scene ; and here and there gay masts for flags rise.” 

To come from one of the cool somber buildings “upon spaces of such sunny 
length and breadth set around with such exquisite architecture, it makes you glad to be 



WEST FRONT OF ST. MARK’S, VENICE. 

living in this world. It is the great resort, in summer and winter, by day and night ; ” 
and of all the brilliant scenes of this out-of-door-living people none can compare with St. 
Mark’s Place, “ which has a night time glory indescribable coming from the light of 
uncounted lamps ” on the surrounding buildings. There are always flocks of pigeons 
here, sacred birds in Venice, which are so tame that they never move out of your way, 
but run before you as you walk, and perch on the sill of your open window. They were 




































Volice. 


247 


formerly maintained by the republic, but are now provided for by the bequest of a 
pious lady and by the grain and peas given them by strangers.” 

The greatest object is the church on the eastern side, with its portico surmounted by 
the four famous bronze horses brought from Constantinople by the Venetians after the 
fourth Crusade, with its lofty proportions and its undescribable treasures of relics, 
mosaics and other magnificent decorations. Beside St. Mark’s stands the old Doge’s 
Palace, extending southward ; this was first built by the Doge of Venice in 820, and 
then, after being partly destroyed by the fires of 1419, another Doge rebuilt it. Mr. 
Ruskin says : “ The first hammer stroke upon the old palace was the first act of the 
period properly called the Renaissance.” This was in 1422, and so we know where and 
when that great revival of 
ancient art, which has had 
an influence on all the world, 
began. As the Palace now 
stands it is remarkable for 
one thing, that instead of 
appearing to grow lighter as 
it rises from the basement, 
the ground floor seems to be 
the most delicate part of the 
building, and as it rises 
story after story toward the 
sky, it appears to increase 
in heaviness and massive 
proportion. The Bridge of 
Sighs led from the criminal 
courts in the palace, to the 
criminal prisons on the other 
side of the Rio Canal. On 
the north side of the Piazza on the Procuratie Vecchie, then comes the Clock 
Tower, the arch beneath it leading into the busy streets of the Mercedia. On the west 
side of the square are the New Procuratie and the Library, which extends to the quay 
on the west side of the Piazzetta, which, opening from the Piazza opposite the Clock 
Tower, extends to the steps leading down to the waters of the lagoon at the end of the 
Grand Canal. Opposite the Library, the Zecca, or old Mint, adjoining the Doge Palace> 
overlooks the eastern side of the Piazzetta. There are many water cities in the world, with 
grand canals, too ; but nothing can in the least compare with that of Venice. Here the 
public gondolas cross as ferry boats, and from here, in the shade, the most picturesque 
groups may usually be seen, ofgossiping with the gondoliers, or market women from 



ARCADE OF THE DOGe’s PALACE IN THE PIAZZETTA. 




248 


Cities of the World. 

Mestre waiting with their baskets overflowing with fruits and greenery. Here are the 
grab-catchers, a peculiar class of beggars who pretend to pull your gondola to the shore 
for you. Along the way on either side of the broad water,rich, stately palaces lie in lines of 
mingled Gothic and Renaissance architecture, for while other cities are famed for ten or 
twelve great buildings, Venice numbers hers by hundreds. Near the center the Grand 
Canal is crossed by the famous bridge known in English as the Rialto, but spoken of by 
Venetians as the Ponte di Rialto, as this part of town was the ancient city of Venice, 
and derives its name from Rivo-alto, as the land here on the left of the canal was called. 
The footway of the famous bridge is lined with shops, and near at hand is the market 
place, which if not the scene of “ such vast multitudes that it is celebrated among the 
first in the universe,” as a writer of the sixteenth century tells us, it has still plenty of 
life and many interesting sights ; and so, if you were there in the enchanting city, 
you might go on and on, never coming to the end of the beautiful palaces and the 
galleries of paintmgs and sculptures they contain, or the noble and the quaint 
churches or the picturesque campi, the tortuous, narrow canals or the few close 
streets ; at other times you might spend pleasant hours out in the lagoon, visiting 
the islands or quietly floating along watching the golden sunsets, and then again it would 
be in Florian’s or some of the gayest cafes you would be enjoying your cosmopolitan 
friends, or chatting with some passing acquaintance, while the band played outside, 
and gay groups of people moved about or stood chatting all around in the cafe, the 
vestibule or on the Piazza below. 

There are about a hundred and fifty thousand people in Venice, many of whom are 
artists, others are occupied by the city trade and in commerce, which has revived very 
much since the Austrian yoke was taken off and the unhappy city joyfully became 
incorporated with the kingdom. Beautiful glassware is made here and articles of iron 
and bronze, beside machinery, silverware and mosaics. 


AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, 


V IENNA, the great city of the Austrian monarchy, stands between the Carpathian 
mountains and the last hills of the Wiener Wald. Its broad plain is threaded by the 
arms of the Danube river, into one of which the little river, Wien, flows that gives the 
Austrian capital its name. IVien is the German for Vienna. In olden times this spot 
•was flrst settled by the Romans. They chose it as a central point to command the 



VIENNA, FROM THE UPPER TERRACE OF BELVEDERE PALACE. 


plain between the great natural barriers of the mountains, and set up a guard here as an 
outpost to protect their possessions from the Barbarians of the North. For a long time 
the two streams formed the upper and the eastern boundaries of the town ; but it seemed 
to be in just the right place to grow. Once, in the twelfth century, its boundaries 






















250 


Cities of the World. 


became too small, and outer walls were built ; before long these could not hold the 
people, and then the city was extended on all sides in new buildings and districts or 
towns called stadte, laid out so that they could be extended almost any distance, like the 
beams of a star. Then, in 1704, when Francis Rakoczy came down with his Hungarian 
invaders, another rampart was built to inclose these “ suburbs,” which had grown to be 
an important part of the city itself. So, until after the French occupation of i8oc 
when Napoleon, successful in the battles of Austerlitz and Wagram, held the city, 
Vienna had a double girdle of fortifications. After the French left, the inner lines were 
broken down and a circular set of streets built upon them, called the “ Rings,” or the 
Ringstrasse. These are very much like the boulevards of Paris, broad, handsomely 
built up and planted, forming a distinction between the old town, or “the City.” and 
the outer stddte. The other ramparts are still kept as the regular outposts, and their 
gates, which the Viennese call the Lines, lead to the real suburbs or outskirts of the 
capital. These extend for miles—sometimes to the outlying towns—in factory districts, 
quarters of plain dwelling houses and dusty, unpaved streets, or in parks surrounding 
the palatial homes of wealthy citizens and noble families, who generously keep their 
beautiful grounds open to the public. 

It is an easy matter to get from one part of Vienna to another, for the city is 
covered with a net-work of tram-ways, or street car lines, public carriages and 
omnibuses. 

The oldest, the grandest, and the liveliest part of the capital is the inner town. The 
City. Here one street only is long and straight, another is long and broad but crooked ; 
most of them stand in parallel groups of threes or fours, apparently there as the shortest 
distance from one important point to another ; the points probably being in the center 
of a block or on some particularly winding thoroughfare. These tortuous streets and 
narrow squares, or pldtze, are full of old relics and historic interest. They are gloomy, 
to be sure, for the great six storied stone houses are black with age, but they are 
interesting and beautiful with their grand gate-ways, their massive caryatides, their 
quaint walls set with tablets telling you of all the great men who have lived and died 
beneath their gabled roofs. Here and there, sometimes beneath the houses, covered 
passages add to the labyrinth of picturesque highways and by-ways which worm them¬ 
selves about, which meet and separate, and which carry you back with your thoughts 
for several centuries. About all the streets in the city lead to the Stephans Platz, 
where the sharp pointed watch tower of St. Stephen’s Church, rising in the mist of the 
Stadt, has thrown a slender, moving shadow over its steady growth and the solemn 
grandeur of four centuries and a half. 

The lofty western faqade of the church, set with ancient Roman sculptures, looks 
down severely upon some of the most crowded business places in all the city. The 
great Giant Door, which, though the principal entrance, is only used on the most solemn 




TOWN HALL AND PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, VIENNA. 

































































252 


Cities of the World. 


occasions, is guarded above by two eight-sided towers, ending in short spires. These 
are ornamented and so is the rest of the building with its long peak roof, over which the 
Austrian eagle figured in colored tiles spreads his wings ; the gables above the side 
windows are flanked at the other end by the great south tower. The graceful spire 
stretches upward for four hundred and fifty feet, in a series of arches and buttresses, 
regularly growing smaller and covered with most elaborate carving. From the top 
there is an extensive view of the picturesque walled city with its river, moats, and 
distant hills. The old church was built after Vienna became the seat of the Hapsburg 
dynasty, in the years between 1300 and 1510 ; and the solid limestone is gray with age— 
black even inside, where the “ mighty forest of pillars ” adorned with statues support 
the rich vaulting of the ceiling. The effects of light in the church are very peculiar ; 
'‘the great length of the central aisle is divided into three. Near the doorway all is 
bright, then comes a great space of shadow so deep you can scarcely see through it, and 
then another flood of light falls upon the chancel. All over, from the tombs of the 
dead to the traces of the old Roman temple which is said to have stood on the ground, 
St. Stephen’s is full of legends and the ‘ strange wild history of Austria.’ The bells 
were cast from Turkish cannon, captured during the famous siege, when the crescent, 
that you still see, was raised to induce the enemy to spare the grand old tower.” 

There are legends, too, connected with the building of the old church, but the story 
of the Stock im Eisen, or “ log of iron ” near by, is more interesting than all. This is 
the stump of an old tree that once stood here, it is said, to mark the ancient limits of 
the Wiener Wald, the most easterly hills of the Alps ; but do you wonder why it is 
clasped round by an iron band held by a padlock, and why so many nails have been 
driven in it ? That is what belongs to the legend of Martin Mux, a Viennese locksmith’s 
apprentice, who filled in a dream an order for a great “ iron circlet to be secured by a 
padlock that no mortal strength could force and this was clasped by the customer 
around the stem of “the old tree in the horse-market.” Years after, the principality 
offered a large reward for undoing it, at a time when Martin, who was a wanderer in 
his trade, chanced to be again in Vienna. He, of course, undid it ; and was thereupon 
acknowledged as the greatest among locksmiths, and became a man of wealth and im¬ 
portance. Ever after that all young locksmiths, starting out to make their fortunes, have 
driven a nail in the Stock im Eisen, for good luck. The old horse-market stands at the 
head of the Graben, a street named from the moat which lay here once, outside the city 
fortifications, in the twelfth century. The Graben is a short street, so wide that it is 
almost like a platz, lined with beautiful imposing buildings, behind its spreading trees. 
At the other end is the gay Kohlmarket. The Stephans Platz, the Graben, and the Kohl- 
market, one adjoining the other, form the great center of life, trade and fashion in the 
gay city. The Stephans Platz is the starting place for most of the omnibus lines in the 
city (bone-shaking affairs that don’t give as much convenience as they do discomfort, 


Vienna. 


253 


rolling over the uneven pavements with their load of crowded occupants) ; and in all 
three you would see the largest hotels, the finest stores, and the gayest throngs of people 
in Vienna. A constant stream of people is passing to and fro. On all sides there are 
open streets, and squares leading to and from the many important places around about. 
Most of the buildings here are new now ; with their richly decorated fronts and gor¬ 
geous store windows they make a very imposing show, mingled with great walls of 
advertisements, for which definite spaces seem to be permanently kept. In the center of 
the Graben there are two large fountains, standing above and below a large and tall group 
of statuary called the Trinity Column. The monument is a representation of figures 
among clouds, raised in 1694, by the order of Emperor Leopold I., when the dreadful 
plague was over. The cafes here, and in the Kohlmarket, are the best in the world, for 
the Viennese, who introduced this kind of refreshment-house into Europe, take pride in 
keeping ahead of all other cities in having the finest and the greatest number. A Vien¬ 
nese cafe is part of the city itself. It may be a plain looking, neat little restaurant of 
the Leopold stadt (one of the sections of the outer town), where the Magyars, Greeks, 
and Turks are dressed in their native costumes to serve, or themselves gather about the 
tables ; or a quiet little out-of-the-way place, where artists or writers go ; or large, luxu¬ 
rious institutions in the center of the city—in any of them you see a kind of life that 
belongs only to Vienna. Most of these places are open at any time ; if you stray in 
before two o’clock, you will see the little tables, and the decorations and other attractions 
offered by the proprietor, and get an excellent cup of coffee, some sweet bread and but¬ 
ter, or whatever you order that comes within the moderate cafe bill of fare. The Vien¬ 
nese are most celebrated for their ices, which are of many different kinds, often so clev¬ 
erly combined that the waiter who takes your order is asked to come back with the ice, 
when he has set before you a bouquet of roses, a basket of grapes, a litter of fluffy 
puppies, or a miniature dog, so perfect that you are deceived at first sight. A good 
cafe is tempting to idleness. 

You may loiter about for a long time if you wish, reading some of the papers. 
There is an astonishing number in the cafe, not only of those published in Austria, 
but in almost every land. Perhaps there will be a few other “ stragglers ” like 
yourself, who sit about for a while, sipping some refreshment, reading or smoking ; 
but the life of the cafes is to be seen between two o’clock and four in the afternoon. 
Then all the well-known places are filled—packed, rather, with a regular Viennese 
crowd, representing every nation in the world ; and while different places are fre¬ 
quented by people of a particular nation, as also of kindred professions, in the largest 
places, like the European Cafe in the Stephans Platz, or the Pfob in the Graben, you 
wid see an oddly mingled throng of Turks and Greeks, Jews and Poles, Bohemians, and 
Germans of every kingdom, Europeans, Orientals, and swarthy skinned Southerners, 
too. They'jostle each other in a strange looking crowd of widely different people, 


254 


Cities of tJie World. 


chattering in their foreign tongues, and carrying with them their national manners: 
All the men smoke ; you see them puffing at every thing, from the long porcelain pipe 
to the paper cigarette. You can not but be interested, and you can not help liking them 
all; they are so kindly, so jovial and good-natured ; they will take any trouble to be 
courteous to you or to another ; they have jdenty of time, and love to “enjoy life as 
they go along they come here to chat with each other, to smoke together, to read, 
hear the music, for some kind or other of enjoyment. With all Viennese, and every 
other son of the German race, their greatest pleasure is in music. Nearly all the cafes 
have bands of music, where the beautiful wild Hungarian airs are played by women. It 
is principally dance music that they play ; more brilliant and fascinating music than you 
hear in any other place in the world. But the finest music is not in the cafes ; it is in 
the out-of-door concerts, especially those given in the Volksgarten, by Edward Strasse and 
his merry men. The famous Johann plays only at the Emperor’s good pleasure nowadays. 
This too, is dance music, but carried to an art, soft, light, and exquisitely full of melody. 
In this paradise of spreading trees, promenades, cafe-tables out-of-doors, the genuine 
Viennese finds perfect bliss in music, tobacco, and Dreher’s beer. “ Gayety in every 
form, and at all times, and an unlimited capacity for enjoyment, seem to be the leading 
characteristic of the Austrian disposition.” You see this in the beautiful theatres they 
build, and the great numbers of concert halls, ball rooms, and other places of recreation 
abounding throughout the capital. Vienna has about ten great theatres ; three of the 
finest are in the Stadt; the chief one of all being the Imperial Opera House. It is just 
within the city limits, on one of the southern sections of the Ring strasse. The best 
operas are given here, before the largest, most fashionable and brilliant companies of 
people that gather to any of the indoor amusements. The building itself attracts a 
great many visitors. 

It has made its four architects so famous that their portraits were made in medal¬ 
lion to adorn the handsome staircase. Seven marble statues stand on the parapets and 
great winged horses are above the open balcony, or “ loggia.” This is decorated with 
fine frescoes and bronze figures, and the foyer is richly embellished with scenes from 
great operas, and busts of celebrated living composers. The interior is large enough to 
seat three thousand people, and sumptuously decorated with paintings and gilding. The 
ceilings, walls and curtain are each a separate work of art. On the main curtain is the 
legend of Orpheus, the poet who could move lifeless things by the music of his 
lyre. On the box-fronts there are thirty medallions of distinguished members of the 
Viennese opera during the last hundred years. Not even the famous boulevards of 
Paris have such a show of magnificent buildings as the Rings of Vienna. On the west 
of the city, they begin at the broad Franz-Josephs Quay, which is itself a great tree- 
planted and store-lined boulevard, skirting the lower bank of the Danube Canal—as the 
river arm is called—connecting on the east with the other end of the encircling 



THE JEWS QUARTER, VIENNA 





































































































































256 


Cities of the World. 


thoroughfare. One of the best ways to see these “ lions ” of the great capital is to take 
a drive through them. There is a never ending panorama among the people, for this is a 
favorite promenade, and contains some fine stores, and of course, many good cafes ; 
but the imposing double ring of buildings that line the great tree-planted avenue en 
either side, will draw your attention from every other sight. Beginning the circuit on the 
western side of the city, first there are the extensive Rudolf barracks, where hundreds of 
soldiers are housed. Barracks are a common sight in Vienna, for Austria has one of the 
largest standing armies in the world, and in the capital alone there are soldiers enough to 
make a general parade of over twenty thousand men. Nearly opposite is the Vienna 
Exchange, or Borse, a great rectangular building, profusely set with marble, terra cotta 
and sculptures in relief, with a stately portico of arches and columns in front of a mag¬ 
nificent vestibule, leading to the vast business hall, where the Viennese stock brokers 
gather in such noisy and excited crowds as those of other countries. The first floor of 
the building is occupied by the fine Oriental museum of natural products, manufactured 
articles, models and other things, mostly from Eastern Asia. Further along in your 
drive you would see a pretty little garden, triangularly shaped, between two fine broad 
streets, radiating westward. Above it is the Votive Church, built by the Austrian people 
in 1856 and the twenty-three following years as a votive offering for the Emperor’s escape 
from assassination in 1853. It is celebrated as one of the most beautiful of modern 
Gothic buildings. It stands alone in the center of a large platz, solitary and beautiful, 
with its richly carved body covered with tracery and statues, and its slender spires above 
the open-work towers. The statuary carving and coloring of the handsomely propor¬ 
tioned interior is finer than any thing else in Europe, except the king of cathedrals at 
Cologne. Beyond it in the Alsergrund stadt, are some of the great hospitals and cele¬ 
brated charitable institutions of the city. Opposite the point of the triangular garden, a 
narrow street in sharp contrast with all this spacious modern magnificence runs between 
the grim, black walls of the Schottenhof and the Melkerhof. These are a couple of the 
great abbeys belonging to some of the powerful religious orders or societies of Austria. 
There are many of these ancient hofe in Vienna ; they occupy some of the most valuable 
property in the city, and the inmates of any of them are enough to people a small town. 
This narrow picturesque Schottenstrasse also leads to the large irregular platz called the 
Freiung, overlooked by ancient palaces of the honored Austrian nobility, whose gal¬ 
leries of magnificent old pictures are open to the public. Underneath the National Bank 
is a Viennese bazar in a passage that makes a short cut for pedestrians to the Hof, or 
Court, an ancient square, which is one of the busy fruit markets of the city. Like 
almost every platz it is embellished with a monument and overlooked by noble mansions 
or city buildings of some special interest. The old Hof is the largest and one of the 
liveliest open spaces in Vienna ; on the east it is connected with the Graben, and not far 
above it lies the Hohen Market, which was the center of ancient Vindobona, the town 


Vienna. 


257 


cf the Romans. Marcus Aurelius died in the fortress that stood here, and in the third 
century it was the forum of an active Roman town and military station. But, if you 
were taking a drive through the Rings you could not have wandered away over here ; 
you would have left the Votive Church behind, and joining in the stately pageant of the 
afternoon drive, would probably have passed the grand new University building and the 
celebrated New Buildings near by, to the finely laid out grounds below,which, divided into 
exact counterparts by a wide avenue, lie between the gay drive and the imposing new 
buildings to the Rathhaus or City Hall, standing about four hundred feet back from the 
Ring strasse, apart from any other buildings. It is built in the style of the magnificent 
Italian palaces of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, everywhere lavishly adorned 
with statues, and surmounted by a tower, rising above the principal fa9ade. Below this 
there is a great reception hall, the largest of three contained in the building for festive 
times, which are in addition to all the spacious and handsome council chambers, com¬ 
mittee rooms and offices. The various apartments of the Rathhaus are built around 
seven fine open courts ; the largest one, in the center of the block, is very handsome and 
inclosed by arcades. Opposite, one of the great theaters stands in a large platz just within 
the Ring. This is the new Court Theater, which, standing alone, shows off its cold 
but stately magnificence and numerous columns to the best advantage. Below is the pretty 
green, the noble shade trees and lovely walks of the Volksgarten where another Grecian 
building stands, the Temple of Theseus, as it is called. Toward the Ring the regular 
paths and sparkling fountain of the garden are opposite the main front of the Austrian 
Houses of Parliament. This, too, is a Renaissance structure, with its fine colonnaded 
wings and sculptured pediment above the noble portico. The upper stories are in two 
parts, connected behind the portico by the lower story, in which are the offices and com¬ 
mittee rooms belonging to the Senate, occupying the upper wing, and the Chamber of 
Deputies on the left wing. The temple-like building further on is the Palace of Justice, 
where the Supreme Courts of the empire meet. The magnificent hall in the center of 
this building is one of the sights of Vienna ; in vaults underneath, some of the precious 
papers of the nation are kept. One of the chief reasons that this drive is so magnifi¬ 
cent is that nothing is crowded, all the mighty buildings are separated by wide paved 
streets and squares or prettily laid out flower-beds and lawns, where the ease-loving 
people stroll about talking in small groups or smoking in peaceful content. They wan¬ 
der through the Volksgarten or the Outer Burg Platz, adjoining, into the Ring strasse, 
crossing it, perhaps, to go through the Imperial museums, which, with a platz of flower¬ 
beds between, lie beyond the Palace of Justice. They are built alike, magnificently 
adorned with art in sculpture and painting and contain celebrated collections, one of 
Natural History and the other of Art. There is an immense building behind these that 
is not handsome, but yet very interesting: it is the emperor’s stables, where hundreds of 
blooded horses are kept for the use of the imperial family, and finer carriages than you 


Cities of the IVor'ld. 


258 

have ever seen, I am sure. They are for four, six or eight horses, too many to be 
counted, and gorgeously covered with gold and rich colors. One of them is two hund¬ 
red years old and has panels decorated with paintings by the great Flemish artist Peter 
Paul Rubens. The collections in the gun-room, saddle-room, riding school and other 
apartments of the stables are also very interesting. Below the Volksgarten there 
are two other parks, lying along the Ring strasse, and extending almost to the Opera 
House. The lower one is the Court Garden, and the center one is called the Outer 
Burg Platz. The entrance to this is through a large gateway—the Burg Thor—in which 
there are five passages separated by Doric columns. It leads to that vast, irregular pile 
of the Hofburg, or imperial castle. This is commonly called the Burg, and has been 
erected, altered, and enlarged at different times since the thirteenth century, when the 
Austrian princes first set up their residence here. Here are the apartments of the 
present emperor, who has numberless other places in Vienna and elsewhere ; and the 
wings occupied by Maria Theresa and her son, Joseph H. The right wing is called 
the Schweizerhof, or Swiss Court. Adjoining is the Treasury with its halls and cham¬ 
bers lined with precious and historical collections. Heralds’ robes hang on the long 
walls of the entrance chamber, with beautiful embroidery of heraldric devices. Here 
are two silver caskets containing gifts to the emperor ; and an ebony box wherein 
are the keys of the coffins of the ancestors of the imperial house, and among some 
beautiful objects in rock crystal and smoky topaz the development of the art of the 
lapidary may be seen from the fifteenth century to modern times, while in other cases 
are magnificently rich and jeweled articles, a fountain head made of a single emerald, 
handsome tankards, drinking cups of lapis-lazuli and enameled gold, private jewels of 
the Austrian imperial family, the Austrian regalia, crown and scepter ; the celebrated 
Florentine diamond and the Frankfort solitaire diamond, stars and other emblems of 
Austrian orders. Among the other interesting buildings adjoining the Burg is the old 
Court Theater, and the Imperial Library, facing the Joseph Platz, with the bronze statue 
of the emperor on horseback. There are only a few libraries in the world more cele¬ 
brated than this with its thousands of precious volumes, manuscripts and music scores. 
The churches of the Burg are St. Michael’s, where the aristocracy attend. Burg Chapel, 
adjoining the Schweizerhof, the old court church, or Augustiner-kirche, which was 
begun in 1330 ; in the Lorettc chapel are the embalmed hearts of the royal families 
(their bodies lie in the Capuchin Church in the New Market, near by, where a long pass¬ 
age in the solemn vault is lined by almost a hundred copper coffins). Below the 
Hofburg, near the Imperial Opera House, is the old palace of the Archduke Albert, 
containing his collection of engravings and drawings, known all over the world as the 
Albertina. It is said to be the most valuable in Europe ; the old palace is connected 
by a covered passage with the Archduke’s new palace, which overlooks the court garden, 
and is adjoined by the smaller palace of the celebrated and wealthy banker, Baron 


f 













































26 o 


Cities of the World. 


Schey on the Ring strasse, next to the Opera. Another and a more famous imperial 
residence is Belvedere, in the south-eastern part of Vienna, between the outer stddte of 
Wieden and Landstrasse, This chateau was built for Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1693, 
and about thirty years following. It consists of two palaces called the Upper and the 
Lower Belvederes. The Upper palace is the main chateau ; it was built in the shape of 
an open triangle around a large court which opens on one of the city streets. This con¬ 
tains the Imperial Picture Gallery, which ranks among the greatest in the world. To 
the Lower Belvedere it is a pleasant down-hill walk through a large terraced garden. 
The upper part is laid out with grass plots, flower-beds, fountains and statuary, beyond 
which are shady avenues under groves of noble trees. The collections of the second 
palace are of antiquities, armor and curiosities. 

The eastern sections of the Ring strasse are not so imposing, although they too are 
lined with handsome houses, but there are more stores here and more business of 
buying and selling. Just below the Opera House the Wien makes a turn and flows 
about a block outside of the Rings all the way to the Danube Canal ; it is crossed 
by many bridges, leading to the Wieden stadt, on the south, where the great 
art schools and museums are, and to the Landstrasse stadt on the east. Here 
are a great many barracks and splendid institutes, with extensive gardens and long 
straight avenues lined with huge apartment houses, for the dwellings of Vienna, like those 
of all other really handsome cities, are in blocks of flats that hold many families under 
one roof. On the eastern part of the city the Wien is skirted by gardens, bordering 
the promenades along the quays ; the best of these and the most popular is the old Stadt 
park, which is a great rendezvous in summer evenings. People loiter in the vicinity of 
the music stands, in the walks beneath the trees, or in the pavilion by the pond. This, 
the Danube, and many other stretches of water are always gay in winter with skaters, 
their fanciful sledges and hearty ice sports. A bridge, crossing the stream, leads to a 
section of this park on the other side of the river, which is a charming children’s play 
ground called the Kinderpark. The buildings of the Horticultural Society are just out¬ 
side the park on the Ring, adding another to the numerous places of amusement that 
the Viennese support. This is something like the Flora near Berlin, with its capacious 
halls decked with plants and flowers, concealing bands that play the delicious 
music of celebrated composers. This is a busy part of town, where a cluster of fine 
stores fill the colonnades and a great many of the old University buildings stand, 
while the bridge at the head of the park with its steady stream of people passing 
east and west, leads to the Central Market, the Mint of Vienna, the Skating Ring, and 
the Custom House, which has three immense courts in the center, with railway tracks the 
whole length. The Ring strasse ends at the confluence of the rivers with the Franz- 
Josephs Quay in a large drilling ground in front of a magnificent set of barracks. Along 
the quay several bridges lead to the Leopoldstadt above the canal, which is famous 


Vic7iiia. 


261 


principally for its two spacious pleasure gardens, opened to the public in about 1775, by 
their much-misunderstood Emperor, Joseph II. The Augarten lies on the north-western 
part of the Leopoldstadt, and is visited by the manufacturing people of Brigittenau, 
adjoining ; the other park is the Prater, the finest and most extensive in the city. 

It covers about four thousand three hundred acres along the eastern side of the city, 
between the canal and the main stream of the Danube. It is almost twice the size of 
Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, and is reckoned the most beautiful in Europe. For 
about two centuries before the reign of Joseph II., it had been in the possession of the 
imperial family, and used exclusively by them for a hunting ground. Much of the fine 
forest still stands, and here all the people, to whom out-door life is part of their exist¬ 
ence, may come to enjoy themselves after their own fashion. On the main street of the 
Leopoldstadt is the busy Prater strasse, which ends in the Prater stern, a circular space 
at the park entrance, from which two avenues run into the Prater, dividing it into three 
fan-shaped sections. The Haupt-allee, or principal avenue, running to the right, is the 
favorite resort of the fashionable world in May, where, beneath the quadruple row of fine 
chestnut trees, there are to be seen the beautiful horses, elegant carriages, and most 
brilliant people of the gay capital, led by the Emperor’s carriage, taking the prescribed 
drive of a mile and a half to the Rondeau, or a mile and a half further to the Lusthaus, a 
fine restaurant, where the dlite of the capital eat an ice or sip some drinks in the cool of 
the afternoon’s shade. There are three cafes in the Prater ; one is particularly attractive 
from an artificial mound opposite, with miniature lakes and waterfalls. On the 
terrace, above the Prater, is the magnificent new Stadtische Badeanstalt, a city bath. 
This includes a large swimming bath two hundred feet long and about a hundred and 
t fifty broad, four smaller basins for bathers who do not swim, and an ample supply of 
private baths, in all accommodating twelve hundred persons at once. The center of the 
park, between the two allees, is known as the Volkprater or the Wurstel (buffoon park); 
this is the favorite haunt of poor people, or lower classes. There are numbers of cafes, 
restaurants, pavilions, a theater, and other places of amusement for them ; and 

sometimes fireworks are given. This part of the park is fullest of people on Sunday and 
holiday afternoons and is one of the best places to see the great sights of Vienna, which 
are the people. The International Exhibition of 1873 was held in the Prater, where the 
large Rotunda, the Art Hall, and the Pavillion des Amateurs have been left standing, 
and are now used for regular exhibitions, large concerts, and extraordinary entertain¬ 
ments. From the roof of the Rotunda, to which you are admitted for twenty kreuzers, 
about equal to ten cents, there is a fine view of the Prater, the Danube, and the new 
suburbs lying beyond. Notwithstanding all their love of pleasure and gayety, that is 
dissipation sometimes, the Viennese are not a shiftless people ; some of them, at least, 
work. It is the center of a very important railway system, which radiates in all direc¬ 
tions, connecting especially with Russia and Turkey, running through Hungary till it 


262 


Cities of the World. 


reaches the Levant and Italy. Some of the manufactures of the city are of world-wide 
fame, particularly fancy leathers, meerschaum pipes, jewelry, clocks, musical and optical 
instruments, silks and velvets. There is refinement and culture, too, that attract people 
from all nations ; you see it in their dress, their manners, and their way of living ; but 
it is not an intellectual city, although the university is five centuries old and numbers 
two or three thousand students and almost a hundred and fifty professors. The entire 
population of Vienna is one million two hundred thousand. 

The great central state of the new empire of Austria-Hungary, is the territory of the 
ancient and powerful kingdom of Hungary. It is united with Austria proper, by having 
the same ruler ; the Emperor of Austria is king of Hungary. The kingdom is large and 
has great resources in fertile plains, vineyards, gardens, forests, and orchards, and is 
one of the most favored countries in Europe for its valuable minerals. The Hungarians, 
or Magyars as they call themselves, are more inclined to raise stock and crops than to 
manufacture, and for that reason they are not a race of city-building people. It has been 
said, with exaggeration, that there is only one noteworthy city in Hungary. This is the 
capital, Buda-Pesth, on the Danube, which makes up for the others in overflowing with 
life, in active trade, and brilliant society. Next to Vienna it is the most important city 
on the Danube, and is connected by railway Avith all the large towns in the country. 
The center of trade is along the magnificent quays that border the banks of the river, 
which, in the center of the city, is about fifteen hundred feet wide, and always full of 
almost every variety of river craft. 

Part of this shipping trade is in the products of the country round about—corn, flour 
and timber, or wine and brandy ; some of these come from the lovely vineyards 
surrounding the town, and the wool or cattle brought in from the farms of the peasantry. 
There are markets held every week when the country people bring in what they raise ; 
during each year there are four large fairs held. The factories of Buda Pesth make 
beautiful dress goods, meerschaum pipes, leather, gold and silver articles, besides heavier 
things like carriages, machinery and iron wares. The railway keeping a regular com¬ 
munication open between the capital and country places, has taken away the great need 
of the fairs of late years; but they are still important occasions, when almost half of 
Hungary is supplied with what is needed for daily living in exchange for what their work 
or land produces. These gatherings have many odd and fantastic sights ; hundreds of 
peasants in their various costumes are gathered in the city, making living pictures of the 
fourteenth or fifteenth century set in the modern surrounding of magnificent new build¬ 
ings and broad streets. The peasants, often wearing leather jerkins and undressed skins, are 
very merry and light-hearted, and enter heartily into the gay dances and lively songs, or 
the rough-and-tumble games that are to them an important part of the fairs. They partic¬ 
ularly delight in contests with their horses, which are taught all manner of tricks. One 
of their chief enjoyments is to see how long a rider can stay on a horse trying to 


B It da-Pesth. 263 

unseat him. Men and women enjoy this sport alike, and being quick and supple, take 
any amount of tumbles in great glee, without being hurt at all. 

The common people of Hungary live in a primitive way, and have most simple 
wants. “At the fairs they prepare their food like gipsies, wrap themselves in their 
blankets or sheep-skin coats and sleep soundly on the ground or under their stalls or 
wagons, the earth being their couch and the sky their roof. They are ignorant and 
superstitious, but they are also sturdy, independent and exceedingly patriotic.” Beside 
the native Hungarians there are people from many other places of southern and eastern 
Europe, and almost every country adjoining. But this also is the character of the city, 
especially the part on the right bank of the river, which was the separate city of Buda, 
until 1872, although the two places had been connected by a large suspension bridge 
for about twenty-five years. The Germans call it Ofen or oven, from its great sulphur 
and hot spring, and by this name it is most generally known. 

This is really a city in itself, with characteristics distinct from the level, stately 
Pesth, on the opposite bank of the river. The streets and squares of Ofen, with their 
mingling of quaint and modern buildings, range like an amphitheater around the base 
and up the sides of a rocky hill; the top is level and crowned by a fortress and castle 
from which it is named the Schloss-berg, or Castle Hill. This is the center of observa¬ 
tion for both sections of the city, the majestic hills near by with their fortifications and 
precipitous fronts toward the water, and the fair green vineyards on the plains almost 
encircling the adjoining suburbs. The citadel is almost five hundred feet above the 
sea-level, and incloses within its walls a beautiful royal palace which Maria Theresa 
built in 1770. It was partially destroyed some thirty years ago, but was restored and 
now stands in regal splendor as the residence of the king (Emperor of Austria, but 
king in Hungary), when it is his pleasure to stay here. The garden surrounding the 
chateau extends down to the river, with a fine view of Pesth and the water even from the 
Palace Bazar, or from the cafe on the bank. 

Ofen differs in appearance and in people from most of the Danubian cities. There 
is a somber Mohammedan mosque over the grave of the saint Sheik Giib Baba, fre¬ 
quently visited by pilgrims from Turkey ; numerous buildings are partly or wholly in 
the style of the East ; many of the customs of the people and their manners of business 
dealing are from the Orient, and the Moorish baths are an important feature of the place. 
For more than a century during the Middle Ages, Buda was held by the Turks ; and 
some of the baths they established are still used a great deal. One of these, the Kaiser- 
bad, is a favorite resort ; adjoining is a Turkish fortification on the river. It has eleven 
springs that vary in temperature from 80° to 150° Fahrenheit. There are large swim¬ 
ming basins for gentlemen and ladies, and adjoining are fine colonnades, and cafes 
looking out upon the gardens. There is always music here, which adds to the other 
attractions—things to eat and drink,—and draws many people. 


264 


Cities of the World. 


The Hungarians are fond of music and company, and frequent restaurants and cafes 
a great deal. Sunday is chief reception day at all cafes, the laws and customs of all Ger¬ 
many being different from ours in regard to the Sabbath. The people gather by hund¬ 
reds, in their peculiar national costume ; they stroll about, or sit at the tables consum¬ 
ing hours in smoking, talking and drinking beer, which is said to be the German equiv¬ 
alent for water. They are overflowing with love for their country, so their conversation 
runs mostly upon the past and the future of Hungary ; few of them are satisfied with a 
government united to Austria. Mingled with the native Hungarians there are Jews, Turks, 
Greeks, and men and women of all nations. It is quite another class of people that you 
see in the Raitzenbad, a bath for the poor, also in Buda, between the Schlossberg gate 
and the larger hill of Blocksberg. The bath itself is a large and dismal vault, with a 
few openings for light; but the sight is the people, who gather about the huge basin of 
hot water in the center. They plunge about, screaming and jumping, jostling and 
pushing, wrestling and playing leap-frog, like frantically gay creatures that seem to belong 
to some other world ; the hot sulphurous water seems to affect their spirits like liquor, 
although many of them are old men and women. Bathing is not a German custom, but 
it is thoroughly seated here ; and in the beautiful parks on Margaret Island, just above 
the city, there is an elegant new bath, with fine hotels and villas, for patients who are 
staying in Buda-Pesth for the benefit of the waters. The finest part of Pesth is the site of 
the old twelfth century settlement, the Inner Town, that lies along the river. Unlike 
Buda, it is level, and so low that it is diked in from the river. The broad quay is like a 
fine boulevard, terraced and flanked by imposing buildings, with the magnificent academy 
in the center, opposite the suspension bridge. This is the seat of the leading scientific 
society in Hungary, and contains also a picture gallery famous for some great works by 
Murillo, Raphael, and other old masters. Throughout the city there is a fine display of 
large public and private buildings. The Inner Town is the center of fashion and trade, 
and around it are grouped four stddte or towns in a semi-circle, laid out in short an-d 
regular cross streets between the long avenues that radiate from the Old Town. These 
thoroughfares are wide, straight, and well paved, and lined with handsome buildings. 
The aristocracy, university, law courts and government buildings, with the most mag¬ 
nificent stores, are in the Inner Stadt. Altogether four-fifths of the people of the city 
live on this side of the river ; the entire population is about three hundred and sixty 
thousand, more people than live in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. “ The 
brightest jewel in the imperial crown of Austria is Bohemia,” with its fertile soil, wealth 
of minerals, abundant resources, and industrious people. In the center of this rich and 
beautiful land is the famous city of Prague. This is the third city in the monarchy in 
size ; but for its beautiful situation, its quaint architecture and important place in history, 
it has no equal among all the cities of Germany. On both sides of the Moldau, 
spanned by many tower-guarded bridges, it stretches up the sides of its rocky basin in 


Pragtie. 


265 


a lovely picture of some thriving city of the Middle Ages, framed by the verdant sum¬ 
mits of the hills. It scarcely seems possible, as you gaze at it from the Carlsbriike, that 



PRAGUE. 


it can be an active, wide-awake place of the nineteenth century, with about a hundred 
and seventy-five thousand people, who almost lead the Empire in manufacturing and trade. 
Yet, it is all true ; and the well-equipped University, after centuries of neglect, is alive 





























266 


Cities of the World. 


with students and professors. It is the oldest University in Germany, and in the fifteenth 
century was the most celebrated in the world, with twenty thousand students. The city 
is surrounded by walls and bastions, entered by eight antique gates, and commanded by 
the grand old fortified citadel above the river, which was once the residence of the early 
dukes of Bohemia. The gates and towers, the quaint houses with their fantastic decora¬ 
tions, lining the narrow streets, and even the foot-ways, wrought with blue and yellow 
limestone, with Arabesque patterns, are unlike any other sight in Europe. There are 
new buildings and push enough in the people ; but they are proud of keeping their 
Bohemian character ; they take care to preserve their language, too, and will not 
exchange it for the most “ polite high Dutch ” of the Empire. 

Placards and signs on shop fronts and walls are all in the vernacular, “ A few leisurely 
strolls through the streets would almost serve the purpose of grammar and dictionary, 
especially as several of the advertisers are so considerate as to give a German translation 
alongside.” But they are Europeanizing gradually, especially in dress. “ The dark- 
colored long coat, with belt and plume of dyed cock feathers in a dark felt hat, worn by 
the—for the most part unoccupied—police, is about the only characteristic costume you 
see now among this busy good tempered and well-conducted people,” except on some of 
the market days. There are a remarkable number of book stores in Prague, and the 
photographs in the shop windows seem without number. Like most other German cities, 
Prague has an old town, the most busy and full of people, and new stcidte beyond. At 
every turn there are statues, tablets, and historical relics, reminding the visitor of the 
great men and important events that have been connected with the city that has been 
great for so many centuries, and is growing still. The principal seaboard trade of Austria 
is centered at Trieste, at the head of the Adriatic. Nearly one-third of all the sea 
trade of the monarchy is carried on here ; it is also the chief port of the Adriatic. It is 
a beautiful city, of a hundred and fifty thousand people (the size of Washington, D.C.), 
at the foot of the cliffs of the Karst, the heights of this desert tract of limestone bluffs 
in the background being covered with gardens, orchards, vineyards and many elegant 
villas. The Schlossberg, crowned with an old castle and fortifications, overlooks the old 
town, whose crooked, narrow streets, with a number of great public squares, either creep 
by its rocky sides or lie at its foot on the southern side of the semi-circular harbor. 
Separated by the handsome cross, the main street of the city, lies the New Town. This 
is made up of wide, regular streets, lined with handsome houses, and skirting the east and 
north shores of the port ; it is divided into two parts by a great canal running up into 
the center of the city. There are many noteworthy places in this celebrated seaport, the 
finest of all being the Tergesteum, which is a splendid modern building in the New Town. 
It is named from the ancient Romans, who held this port as early as fifty years before 
Christ, and called it Tergestum. Trieste is very proud of the title of “ the most loyal 
of towns,” which it has borne since i8i6. 


THE LEVANT.* 



A ll the regions beyond Italy, bordering the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, 
are commonly known in Europe as the Levant. This usually includes Asia Minor, 
Turkey, Syria, Greece, Egypt and the adjacent country, but it does not extend east of 
the Euphrates River. In the time of the ancients and during the middle ages some of 
the grandest cities of the world flourished here, but nowadays the most important places 
in the Levant take second or third rank among our great cities. 

The greatest Levantine city is Constantinople. To come into Constantinople on a 

fine morning is a great moment in a 
man’s life. You enter the Bosphorus 
—that arm of the sea which divides 
Asia from Europe, and joins the Sea 
of Marmora to the Black Sea—then go 
up a narrow roadstead which lies at 
a right angle with the Bosphorus, and 
penetrates for several miles into the 
European land, curving like the horn 
of an ox. This is the Golden Horn, 
or, horn of abundance, because through 
it flowed, when it was part of Byzantium, 
the wealth of three continents. At the 
angle of the European shore, which on 
one side is bathed by the waters of the 
Sea of Marmora, and on the other by 
those of the Golden Horn, where once 
Byzantium stood, now rises upon seven 
hills, Stamboul, the Turkish city—at the 
other angle, marked by the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, stand Galata and Pera above 
it, the Frankish cities—opposite the mouth of the Golden Horn, upon the hills of the 
Asiatic side, is the city of Scutari. That then which is called Constantinople is composed 
of three great cities, divided by the sea, but placed the one opposite the other, and the 
third facing the other two. From the hill tops to the sea, quarter after quarter stretch 
along the water thickly so\Vn with houses and dotted with white mosques, rows of ships. 


A HAREM WINDOW. 


*See “ Great Cities of the Ancient World. 


































268 


Cities of the World. 


little doors, palaces rising from the water, pavilions, gardens, kiosks, groves ; a glow of 
colors, and all the sublime glory of Constantinople is in full view. The Golden Horn is 
like a river, and on either shore are two chains of heights on which rise and lengthen two 
parallel chains of city, embracing eight miles of hills, valleys, bays and promontories ; 
a hundred amphitheaters of monuments and gardens, houses, mosques, bazars, 
seraglios, baths, kiosks of infinite variety of colors ; in the midst of thousands of 
minarets with shining pinnacles rising into the sky like columns of ivory ; groves of 
cypress trees descending in long lines from the heights to the sea, engarlanding suburbs 
and ports ; the green of trees and vines springing and gushing out everywhere, waving 
plume-like in the summits, encircling the roofs and hanging over into the water. Galata 
is faced by a forest 
of masts and sails and 
flags ; above Galata, 

Pera, the vast outlines 
of her European pal¬ 
aces drawn upon the 
sky; in front, abridge 
connecting the two 
shores and traversed 
by two opposing 
throngs of many col¬ 
ored people; opposite 
Stamboul stretched 
upon her broad 
hills, upon each of 
which rises a gigantic 
mosque with leaden 
dome and golden pin- fountain st. sophia. 

nacles; Saint Sophia, white and rose colored ; Sultan Ahmed, flanked by six minarets ; 
Soliman the Great, crowned with ten domes ; Sultana Valide, mirrored in the 
waters; on the fouith hill the Mosque of Mahomet Second; on the fifth the 
Mosque of Selim ; on the sixth the Seraglio of Tekyr; and above them 
all the white Tower of Seraskiarat, which overlooks the shores of both continents 
from the Dardanelles to the Black Sea.” This is Constantinople from the ship ; but 
when you enter it you find it more the skeleton of a great city, than the vast metro¬ 
polis it appeared to you. “ It is in the process of transformation now, and is made up of 
ancient cities that are in decay, new cities just built, and others being built ; on every 
side are traces of gigantic works ; ” great plans not yet completed give the whole place 
an appearance of civilization cutting its way through tracts of decay, or of natural wilds. 


























Constantinople. 269 

“ You go to the head of a fine street, it is closed by a ravine or precipice ; you come out 
of the theater to find yourself in the midst of tombs ; you go up a street, there is no 
more city. The streets bend into infinite angles, wind about among small hills, are 
raised on terraces, skirt ravines ; pass under aqueducts, break into alleys, run down steps, 
through bushes, rocks, ruins and sand hills. Here and there the great city takes as it 
were, a breathing time in the country ; and then begins again, thicker, livelier, more highly 
colored ; now it is all red, now all white, again all gold colors, and further on it presents 
the aspect of a mountain of flowers. In the midst of Turkish houses rise European 
palaces ; behind the minaret stands the bell-tower ; above the terrace the dome ; beside 
the dome the battlemented wall ; the Chinese roofs of kiosks hang over the fapades of 
theaters ; the grated balconies of the harem confront plate glass windows ; Moorish lat¬ 
tices look upon raised terraces ; niches with the Madonna within, are set beneath Arabian 
arches ; sepulchers are in the courtyards, and towers among the laborers’ cabins ; mosques 
and synagogues, Greek churches. Catholic churches, American churches, rise one above 
another, amid a confusion of vanes, cypresses, umbrella pines, fig and plane trees, that 
stretch their branches over the roofs. At every hundred paces all is changed. There are 
points of France, strips of Italy, fragments of England, relics of Russia ; there is a con¬ 
vent of Dervishes in one street, a Moorish barrack in another, and Turkish caf^s, 
bazars, fountains, aqueducts, at every turn.” The great differences in the people add 
very much to the infinite variety of the city. The population is made up of people of 
every race and religion ; in one place densely crowded ; in another sparsely scattered ; 
the numbers have never yet been thoroughly counted, although the estimate is six 
hundred thousand—about the same as Chicago, Illinois, or Liverpool, England. The 
best of all places to see the people is on the floating bridge, which extends from the 
most advanced point of Galata to the opposite shore of the Golden Horn, facing the 
great mosque of the Sultana Valide, a distance of about one-quarter of a mile. Both 
shores are European territory ; but the bridge may be said to connect Asia to Europe, 
because in Stamboul there is nothing European but the ground, and even the Christian 
suburbs that crown it are of Asiatic character and color. Standing on this bridge one can 
see all Constantinople go by in an hour. The crowd passes in great waves, each one of which 
is of a hundred colors, and every group of persons represents anew type of people. Behind 
a throng of Turkish porters who pass running, and bending under enormous burdens, 
advances a sedan-chair, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl, and bearing an Armenian 
lady ; and at either side of it a Bedouin wrapped in a white mantle or a Turk in muslin 
turban and sky-blue caftan, beside whom canters a young Greek gentleman followed by his 
dragoman in embroidered vest, and a dervise with his tall conical hat and tunic of camel’s 
hair, who makes way for the carriage of an European ambassador, preceded by his 
batistrada, or running footman, in gorgeous livery. All this is only seen in a glimpse, 
and the next moment it is a crowd of Persians, in pyramidal bonnets of Astrakan fur, 


Cities of the World. 


270 

who are followed by a Hebrew in a long yellow coat, open at the sides ; a frowzy-headed 
gipsy woman with her child in a bag at her back ; a Catholic priest with breviary staff ; 
while in the midst of a confused throng of Greeks, Turks, and Armenians comes a big 
eunuch on horseback, crying out Larya ! make way ! and preceding a Turkish carriage, 
painted with flowers and birds, and filled with the ladies of a harem dressed in green and 
violet, and wrapped in large white veils ; behind a Sister of Charity from the hospital of 
Pera, an African slave carrying a monkey, and a professional story-teller in a necroman¬ 
cer's habit, and what is quite natural, but appears strange to the newcomer, all these 
diverse people pass each other without a look, like a crowd in London ; and not one 
single countenance wears a smile. An Albanian in his white petticoat and with pistols 
in his sash, beside the Tartar dressed in sheepskins, the Turk astride of his caparisoned 
donkey, threads pompously two long strings of camels ; behind the adjutant of an imperial 
prince, mounted upon his Arab steed, clatters a cart filled with all the odd domestic rub¬ 
bish of a Turkish household ; the Mohammedan woman afoot, the veiled slave woman, 
the Greek with her red cap, and her hair on her shoulders, the Maltese hooded in her 
black faldetta, the Hebrew woman dressed in the antique costume of India, the negress 
wrapped in a many colored shawl from Cairo, the Armenian from Trebizond, all veiled 
in black like a funeral apparition all these and countless others jostle each other as 
they pass along. “ Now it is a water carrier with a colored jar on his back ; now a Russian 
lady on horseback : now a squad of imperial soldiers in zouave dress ; now a crew of 
Armenian porters, two and two, carrying on. their shoulders immense bars, from 
which are suspended great bales of merchandise. 

“Camels, horses, sedan-chairs, oxen, carts, casks on wheels, bleeding donkeys, mangy 
dogs ; so it goes on in greater multitudes of men and beasts, than can even be named, 
a steady tread of many, many feet and a murmurming sound of voices above which you 
hear in every tongue the shrill cries of newspaper sellers ; the shout of the porters, the 
giggling laugh of the Turkish women, the falsetto trill of blind men chanting verses of 
the Koran, the noise of the bridge as it moves upon the water, the whistles and bells of 
a hundred steamers,” the striking of hoofs, sometimes clear and distinct and sometimes 
mingled in one mighty roar. “ All this throng of people embark in the small steamboats 
that leave every moment for Scutari, for the villages on the Bosphorus, and tlie suburbs 
of the Golden Horn ; they spread through Stamboul, in the bazars, in the mosques,” 
far and near they go and return, blending together in a constant stream of life between 
“ ten cities and a hundred suburbs.” 

“ In Stamboul every thing is strictly Oriental. The houses on either side the thousand 
alleys that wind about the hills are all of wood, painted in different colors, their upper 
stories projecting over the lower ; and the windows protected in front by a sort of grated 
gallery and closed by small wooden lattices that almost touch from opposite sides in some of 
the narrow streets. Mysterious by-ways often open on a sudden turn into one of the great 


Co 7 istaiitmople. 2 71 

taoroughfares, flanked by magnificent monuments, and lined with mosques, kiosks, 
arched galleries, fountains in marble and lapis-lazuli, mausoleums of departed sultans, 
resplendent with arabesques and gold inscriptions, walls covered with mosaics.” The 
Jews’ Quarter is a filthy place lying at the foot of the sixth hill in Stamboul ; it runs 
along the shore of the Golden Horn, where it was once ornamented by gorgeous palaces ; 
it is now full of ruins and sadness. 

One of the chief sights within the city is the Great Bazar in Stamboul. It is 
reached by a street that begins at the fish market, so narrow that the upper stories of 



THE BOSPHORUS. 


the houses almost touch each other, and lined with a double row of low, dark tobacco 
shops, and ending in a low, dark archway, festooned with vines. Beyond this is avast 
stone building, through which runs a long, straight, covered street, flanked by dark 
shops, and crowded with people, cases, sacks, and heaps of merchandise. This is the 
Egyptian bazar, full of wares from India, Syria, Arabia and Egypt. It is a street of 
noisy coppersmiths, beyond this, where there are bad smelling Turkish taverns, and a 
thousand little black holes of shops. Then comes the Great Bazar itself, which outside 
does not attract you nor show any signs of its contents. It is an immense stone build- 














272 


Cities of the World. 



ing of Byzantine architecture, and irregular form, surrounded by high gray walls, and sur¬ 
mounted by hundreds of little cupolas, covered with lead, and perforated with holes to give 
light to the interior. The principal entrance is an arched doorway ; beyond which you 
are in a moment bewildered by the sight of a labyrinth of arcaded streets flanked by 
sculptured columns and pilasters that stretch out before you. It is a real city, with 
its mosques, fountains, cross-ways and squares, dimly lighted and filled with a dense throng 
of people. Every street is a bazar, almost all leading out of one main street, with an 

arched roof of black and white 
stone, and decorated with arab¬ 
esques like the nave of a mosque. 
In this dimly lighted thorough¬ 
fare, carriages, horsemen and 
camels are constantly passing, 
making a deafening noise. At 
every turn, by the side doors, 
are seen perspectives of arches 
and pilasters, long corridors, 
narrow alleys, a long confused 
aspect of bazars, and shops, 
with merchandise piled up or 
hanging from wall and ceiling, 
busy merchants, loaded porters, 
groups of veiled women, coming 
or going, the merchants calling 
out to the passers-by and en¬ 
deavoring in every language to 
induce them to buy. But the 
confusion is only apparent. 
This immense bazar is or¬ 
dered like a barrack. Every 
kind of goods has its own par¬ 
ticular quarter, its streets, its 
MUSSULMAN WOMAN. corridor, and its square. There 

are a hundred little bazars contained in one great one, and opening one into the 
other like rooms of a vast apartment, and each bazar is at the same time a 
museum, a market and a theater, where you may look on without buying any 
thing, take coffee, enjoy the coolness and lose yourself in the fantastic scene around 
you. The costumes of Constantinople are undergoing a change, and before long a 
great deal of the charming variety that has for so long a time been a great feature of the 
Turkish capital will be a thing of the past. “ The inflexible old Turk still wears the tur- 








Cojistantinople. 


273 


ban, the caftan, and the traditional slippers of yellow morocco ; the Turk who is on the 
side of reform in dress and old time customs and belief, wears a long black frock coat, 
buttoned to the chin, trowsers with straps, and nothing Turkish but the fez, and some of 
the younger men even wear cut-away coats, light pantaloons, and elegant cravats, watch 
chains and seals, and a flower in the button-holes. Many, between these extremes, are 
in part Oriental and part European dress. The women’s clothes, too, are gradually 
undergoing a change, but they still keep to the custom of the veil and mantle, but the 
veil has become transparent, and the mantle often covers a dress of Paris pattern.” 

What can one not do in Constantinople ? There are two continents and two seas 
within sight. “ Horses stand saddled in every square, sailboats in every cove, steamboats 
at every flight of steps, the darting caique, the flying talika, and an army of guides 
speaking all the lan¬ 
guages of Europe.” 

One of the best ways 
to know what Con¬ 
stantinople is is to 
make the journey 
skirting Galata along 
the northern shore of 
the Golden Horn. 

Galata is built upon a 
hill that forms a pro¬ 
montory between the 
Golden Horn and the 
Bosphorus, and upon 
the site of the great 
cemetery of ancient 
Byzantium. The tower in Bosphorus. 

streets are almost all narrow and tortuous, bordered by taverns, pastry-cook shops, 
butchers’ and barbers’ shops, Greek and Armenian cafes, merchants’ offices, workshops 
and the ever present barracks ; the whole dark, damp, muddy and sticky as in the lowest 
London quarter. A dense and busy crowd throng the streets, constantly opening before 
carriages, porters, donkeys and omnibuses. Almost all the trade of Constantinople 
passes through Galata. Here are the Exchange, the Custom House, the office of the 
Austrian Lloyds, those of the French Messageries, churches, convents, hospitals and 
warehouses. An underground railway unites Galata to Pera, and there is nothing Ori¬ 
ental here except turbans and fezzes. European languages are spoken on all sides. 
There are two long modern streets : one mounts the hill toward Pera, and the other runs 
parallel to the sea-shore from one end of Galata to the other, and leads to the Sultan’s 



















2/4 


Cities of the \Vo7'ld. 


palace. The city has the form of an opened fan, and the tower of Galata represents its 
handle. After threading your way through a series of dirty winding alleys you reach the 
Tower. This is a land-mark, which rises upon the line of the wall that once separated 
Galata from Pera, and now marks the limit of the Genoese quarter. The tower is 
round, very high, of dark color, ending in a conical point formed by its copper roof, 
under which runs a range of large windows, where night and day a guard 
watches for the first sign of any fire that may break out in the city. Near the tower you 
enter the principal street of Pera, which is the center of pleasure and elegance, especially 
for the European colony in Constantinople. The street is bordered by English and 
American hotels, handsome caf^s, glittering shops, theaters, consulates, clubs and palaces 
of ambassadors. Here swarms a crowd quite different from Galata. In some of the 
adjacent suburbs the people are almost all Greeks, while near by is the Mussulman 
suburb of Kassim-Pasha, the heart of Turkey ; it is thickly set with mosques and con¬ 
vents of dervishes, full of flower and vegetable gardens, and occupies a hill and a valley, 
and extends to the waters of the Golden Horn. From the heights of Kassim-Pasha the 
spectacle is an enchanting one. Below upon the shore is the arsenal of Ters-Kane ; a 
labyrinth of docks, factories, squares, store-houses and barracks, that extends for a mile 
along that part of the Golden Horn which is used as a port for vessels of war ; the light 
and elegant building of the Ministry of Marine, that seems floating on the water, is seen 
upon the dark green background of the cemetery of Galata ; the harbor is full of small 
steamboats and caiques loaded with people, that dart about among the iron-clads lying 
at anchor, and old frigates dating from the Crimean war ; and on the opposite shore 
Stamboul, the aqueduct of Vanentinian, that throws its lofty arches against the blue sky, 
the great mosques of Soliman and Mahomet the Second, and myriads of houses and min¬ 
arets. Other quarters, Turkish and Israelitish, each with its own peculiarities, extend 
beyond, from height to shore, all interesting and every thing new. The Halidgi-Oghli is 
made up of a mixture of people ; it is “ a little city, where at every turn one meets a new 
race and a new religion. You go up, you go down, you climb, you wind about among 
tombs, mosques, churches, and synagogues ; you skirt gardens and cross squares ; you 
meet handsome Armenian matrons, and veiled Turkish women; and you hear Greek, 
Armenian, and Spanish spoken.” What a wonderland you are in ! 

Among the things peculiar to this city are the birds. They are infi¬ 
nite in number and of every kind. All places resound with the song, the whis¬ 
tling and twittering of birds. The Turks love and care for them. “ Spar- 
•rows enter the houses boldly and eat off women’s and children’s hands; swal¬ 
lows nest over the cafe doors, and under the arches of the bazars ; pigeons are 
maintained by legacies from sultans and private individuals ; seagulls dart and plav 
over the water ; thousands of turtledoves coo among the cypresses in the cemeteries ; 
crows croak about the Castle of the Seven Towers ; halcyons come and go in long files 





CONSTANTl vn^T F. 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































276 


Cities of the World. 


between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora ; and storks sit upon the cupolas of the 
mausoleums. For the Turk each one of these birds has a gentle meaning or a kind 
virtue, so he protects and feeds them in gratitude and piety.” His feeling for them is 
sincere like that for the dogs, which make up “ a second population, forming a great free 
vagabond republic, living in the streets, where they dig little dens, and live undisturbed 
during all their lives. They are masters of the public highways ; the people, the horses, 
the camels, and the donkeys, all make way for them. They are remarkably lazy. They 
lie down in the middle of the road, five, six, ten in a line, or in a ring, sleeping the whole 
day, and among throngs of people, the most deafening noises, unmoved by either 
cold or heat, rain or shine, and scarcely by the imminent danger of being run over. 

Although at some hours of the day Constantinople seems to be industrious, in reality it 
is perhaps the laziest city in Europe. Turks and Franks—or Europeans—are alike in 
this. Every body gets up as late as possible. The sun is high before it is possible even 
to get a cup of coffee. Then there are the holidays : the Turkish Friday, the Jewish 
Sabbath, the Christian Sunday, the innumerable saints’ days of the Greek and Armenian 
calendar, all scrupulously observed. There are offices that are only opened twenty-four 
hours in eight days. Every day one or the other of the five peoples of the great city 
goes lounging about the streets, in holiday dress, with no other thought than to kill time.” 
Everywhere you see a great amount of liberty, which results in the different nationalities 
keeping their own manners and customs, or adopting any others that they choose, within 
the bounds of law and order. 

The greatest things to see in Constantinople are the mosque of Saint Sophia, the 
Old Seraglio, the palaces of the Sultan, and the Castle of Seven Towers. In the square 
of St. Sophia is the famous pagoda-like fountain of Sultan Ahmed Third, a little edifice 
all of white marble covered with richest ornamentation. There is not a space as big as a 
hand that is not carved and gilded and embroidered. From this colossal jewel is seen 
the mosque of St. Sophia, filling up one side of the square, with its high white minarets 
that rise one at each of the four corners upon pedestals as big as houses. The dome, 
which looks so grand from a distance, seems small near by ; it is a flattened dome, 
flanked by two half domes covered with lead, and perforated with a wreath of windows, 
supported upon four walls painted in stripes of pink and white ; on the eastern side 
there is a door ornamented by six columns of porphyry and marble ; at the southern side 
another door by which you enter a court, surrounded by low, irregular buildings, in the 
midst of which bubbles a fountain, covered by an arched roof with eight columns. From 
the outside Saint Sophia’s would never pass for the “ greatest temple in the world after 
St. Peter’s ; ” but within is the marble-lined vestibule, glittering with ancient mosaics, 
the grand nave, with its domes and columns, its galleries and porticos, its tribunes and 
gigantic arches ; its wonderful great dome, whose stateliness, color and variety bewilder 
you ; and as you go from one part to another the magnificence of art grows upon you 


Da?nascus. 


277 


with every step. “ St. Sophia’s stands opposite the principal entrance of the Old Seraglio, 
the great historic monument of the Ottoman dynasty. It was at once a royal palace, a 
fortress, and a sanctuary ; a city within a city, a monstrous palace placed upon the most 
eastern of the Stamboul hills, which descends gently toward the Sea of Marmora, the 
mouth of the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn. The whole hill is encircled at its base by a 
battlemented wall with towers. Along the sea this wall is also the city wall. The Seraglio 
stands on the hill-top, with a circlet of walls immediately surrounding. But it is 
no longer in its Ottoman grandeur. The railway passes through the outer walls ; 
hospitals, barracks, and military schools stand in the devastated gardens; and many of 
the old buildings that remain have been changed in form and use. The famous residence 
of the Sultans is the D'olma Bagtche, and rises from the shore of the Bosphorus ; it is only 
possible to get a view of the whole of it from a boat. The facade, which is half a mile 
long, is turned toward Asia, and can be seen for a great distance, shining white 
between the blue of the sea and the dark green of the hill ; it presents, with its 
many styles of architecture, the majestic appearance of the royal palaces of Eu¬ 
rope, combined with the graces of the Moorish buildings of Seville and Granada, 
altogether a vast Imperial City, as they say in China, with its palaces, its temples, 
its theaters, endless in variety, magnificence, and fantastic beauty. The old 
Castle of the Seven Towers stands where the land wall of the great triangle of the 
Mussulman city joins the sea wall. It is now nothing but a skeleton of a castle, a state 
prison, guarded by a few soldiers. The Turks call it Jedi-Ktil, and it is for them what 
the Bastile was to the French, and the Tower of London to the English ; a monument 
recalling the worst epochs of the tyranny of the Sultans. 

The largest city in Syria, or in Asiatic Turkey, is Damascus. It is probably the 
most ancient of cities, as it is the most Oriental, and at a distance one of the most 
beautiful places in the world. From the lofty hill on the west the view is one of the 
sights of the earth. The Damascenes say it is the earthly reflection of Paradise. In the 
midst of charming gardens, brightened by flowers of every hue, rich cornfields and 
blooming orchards, with the river Barrada and its branches winding through until they 
lose themselves far to the east in the lake Bahr-el-Merj, into which the Phege, a smaller 
stream, also flows, —in the midst of all this indescribably beautiful picture, the bright 
buildings of the city rise, gleaming snow-white in along and rather narrow stretch. On 
the outskirts rise multitudes of tall poplar trees in dark and stately forms, and rich 
groves and orchards of walnut, fig, pomegranate, citron, and apricot. The city is 
famous for this magnificent picture, and equally famous, alas, for disappointing every one 
on nearer view, with its old, tumbledown walls, shabby houses and narrow streets. The 
mean looking houses so cramp the dirty streets, that a loaded donkey blocks the way, and 
foot-passengers hasten to get into the doorway of the nearest house until the blockade has 
passed by. The outsides of the houses have nothing but a door-way to break the stretch 


278 


Cities of the World, 


of dead wall with their projecting upper stories, shutting out all but a thin strip of sky. 
But after you have recovered from your first’ disappointment in Damascus, it will 
grow interesting to you, especially if you study any thing of its history. The 
houses which look so unattractive outside are often very beautiful within, with fine 
marble-paved courts, ornamented with trees, shrubs, and fountains, rooms with roofs 
and walls decorated with arabesques, and most luxuriously furnished. 

In the south-eastern part of town is the Jewish Quarter, and above it is the Christian 
Quarter, where the lanes are narrow and the houses are in a ruinous condition, while 
between them runs the only broad, respectable street in the old city, Derb-ei-Mustakwi^ 
familiar to us in the Scripture as “the Street that is called Straight.” Muslims occupy 
the other parts of the town. These quarters are subdivided into smaller sections, each 
closed off from the other at night by wooden gates, kept by blind public paupers. “ The 
present form of Damascus is something like a spoon, with the new quarter of Meidan for a 
handle.” This is about a mile long and occupies only one street, and is quite different 
from any other part of the town. The whole suburb is comparatively new, and none of 
the many dilapidated mosques on each side of the broad, badly-paved street, are over a 
couple of centuries old. This is very modern for a city mentioned in the book of Gene¬ 
sis. The bazar, occupied mostly by smiths and corn-dealers, is particularly interesting 
when a caravan arrives. “A long string of camels stalks through the street, accom¬ 
panied by ragged Bedouins with matted hair and wild appearance. In the midst of the 
procession the Hauranian is bringing his corn to market, and the Kurd shepherd, clad in 
his square cloak of felt, is driving his flock to the slaughter-house. The Bedouins, poor 
as they are, often ride beautiful horses, guiding them with a halter only ; they are usually 
armed with a long lance, and rarely with a gun. In the midst of the noisy city these 
half-savages are quite out of their element. Some of them called Shebis, live 
chiefly by gazelle hunting, and wear gazelle skins, but these do not often come to town. 
Sometimes a Druse of high rank comes in riding at the head of an armed troop. His 
appearance is imposing, his turban is snowy white, he is equipped with a lance, handsome 
pistols, a sword, and perhaps a gun also, and his horse is often richly caparisoned. There 
are two days in the year when almost every type of the countrymen pass through here. 
These are on the day when the great caravan starts for Mecca, and on the day of its 
return. The Pilgrimage passes in and out of the gate at the end of the Meidan, which 
from its connection with this religious mission, is called God’s Gate. In 1873 the Pil¬ 
grimage caravan returned on April i6th, and each successive year it arrives about eleven 
days later than the year before. The grotesque camel-litters of this procession are rudely 
made of wood covered with colored cloth, and open in front; they carry several people, 
reclining on Oriental-looking couches. The litter is sometimes borne by two camels, one 
before, and the other behind, which are trained to keep step with each other. The 
camels are adorned with a headgear of leather straps, to which shells, coins, and small 


Darnasctis. 


279 

bells are attached. A handsome, richly caparisoned camel bears a large litter, which is 
hung with green cloth embroidered with gold, and contains an old Koran and the green 
flag of Mohammed the prophet. The party is accompanied by many half-naked der¬ 
vishes, and by an escort of soldiers. Druses, and Bedouins. The pilgrims, who have an 
eye to business as well as religion, bring back goods from Mecca.” 

The great bazar of Damascus is in the inner part of the city, and is divided into 
sections, on the same plan as that of Constantinople. In among them are cafes, 
one that is particularly attractive is situated on a terrace, near some of the khans 
or wholesale houses ; the Great Khan is a splendid building of black and white 
marble, and all about it is a vast crowd of quaint, picturesque Oriental life. 
“ The bazar is an exceedingly noisy place, with the lusty singing of beggars and 
vendors rising above the constant din of ordinary voices, mingled with the noise of 
workmen, and the sonorous repetition of the Mohammedan creed by the muezzins, which 
resounds from one minaret to another throughout the whole city, for mosques are at 
every turn. The handicraftsmen of Damascus appear to be very industrious as a class. 
The barber, too, in his stall, hung round with mirrors, incessantly and skillfully plies his 
trade of shaving heads and bleeding. The public writers, who sit at the corners of 
the streets, are often surrounded by peasants and Bedouins, and sometimes by women. 
The engraver of seals is another important personage here, as a man adds his seal and 
not his signature to important business papers. The Persians are particularly noted for 
their skill in seal engraving and caligraphy. All these craftsmen begin their daily tasks 
at a very early hour, but the merchants do not open their shops till eight in the morning, 
and close them at about half an hour before sunset. Persons who walk about the streets 
after dark are liable to be arrested if they do not carry a fdnUs, that is, one of the tin or 
paper lanterns common in the city. At the gate of each quarter one must shout, ‘ Open, 
O watchman !’for the poor old gate-keeper to let him through.” In the midst of one 
of the bazar streets the Citadel of Dam.ascus towers above the shops, and surrounded by 
its reed grown moat. This was built in 580, with thick walls and twelve great projecting 
towers and overhanging stories. Toward the east there is a small postern ; but the main 
entrance is the Western Gate. There are four antique columns in this side, which once 
partly supported a large reception room, whose roof has now fallen. The chambers of 
the castle that are still preserved contain collections of ancient weapons, and the sacred 
tent which is carried by the caravan of pilgrims to Mecca. Not far away through the 
crooked, narrow streets is the Great Mosque, once very beautiful, but now much marred 
and partly in ruins. 

The famous swords of wonderfully-tempered steel for which ancient Damascus was so 
noted are not made here now. No manufactures are very extensive ; the silks, cottons, 
jewelry, saddlery, arms and other things, of which you see such quantities in the 
bazars, are rarely enough to supply any foreign trade. There are said to be about a 


28o Cities of the World. 

hundred and fifty thousand people in the city and the adjoining suburbs, but the figures 
can not be given exactly. 

Smyrna, while one of the most important cities of Asia Minor now, was far greater 
in ancient days. It has about the same number of people as Damascus, but has more 
life than the “ city of earthly paradise.” The harbor at the head of the Gulf of Smyrna 
is so fine that ships of large burden anch.or close to the quays. The trade, by railway 
also, is very extensive and important. Some of the buildings are handsomely built of 
stone ; but the city is mainly made up of ill-paved, narrow, crooked, dirty streets, with 
low wooden houses, generally no more than one story high. After the usual Turkish 
custom, the Turks, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, and Franks each have distinct quar¬ 
ters. The trade is in importing goods and products from Europe that the country does 
not supply for itself, while in exchange there is a thriving export business in wools, cot¬ 
ton, silk, carpets, olive-oil, drugs, gums, figs, raisins, and many other articles which are 
considered great luxuries in England and America. 

Two thousand years ago, when Egypt ruled the world, her numerous cities were the 
most magnificent ever built. Now, of them all, there are only two of importance left ; 
and these are greatly changed. Cairo, near the point of the Delta, is the capital of the 
present State, and a city where modern improvements are strangely combined with the 
medieval and oriental character. Its low wall, inclosing three square miles of oblong 
territory, and about three hundred and fifty thousand people, rises out of a sandy plain 
between the right bank of the Nile and the rocky ridge of Mokattam. From these 
heights, which lie on the south-east side of the town, the citadel rises two hundred and 
fifty feet. The citadel is in itself a small and interesting town, gathered about the hand¬ 
some palace and mosque of Mohammed Ali. The courts of the mosque, paved with 
w’hite marble and inclosed by columns, the round arches with fancy capitals, and the 
vaulted domes, are all overlooked by a clock tower on the west, and surmounted by a 
large principal dome. This is supported by four great piers, and embraced by four half 
domes, with four smaller domes above the angles. Small stained glass windows with 
round arches are just below. The interior is very rich and striking with painted decora¬ 
tions, a great luster in the center and numerous small lamps. The casing of Mohammed 
All’s tomb and the surroundings are of alabaster, which is also much used in the columns 
and domes of other parts of the beautiful building. From the ramparts of the citadel 
the entire city with the surrounding country is plainly in view below. “ The vastness of 
the city, as it lies stretched below, surprises every one. It looks a perfect wilderness of 
flat roofs, cupolas, minarets, and palm tops, with an open space here and there present¬ 
ing the complete front of a mosque, and gay groups of dusky-skinned people, and 
moving camels. The wonderful aqueduct runs off for miles across the plain. 
The fawn-colored domes of the famous tombs of the caliphs rise against the somewhat 
darker sand of the desert. The gleaming river winds away from the dim south into the 



STREET IN CAIRO. 
































































































































282 


Cities of tile World. 


blue distance of the north ; the green strips of cultivation on its banks glow amid the 
yellow sands. Eight miles away to the west the Pyramids of Gizeh seem to rise in 
their full height, while the eye measures the full distance between. The platform of the 
Great Pyramid is seen to be a considerable hill of itself; and the fields and causeways 
which are between it and the river lie as in a map, and indicate the true distance and 
elevation of these mighty monuments. The Libyan hills, dreary as possible, close in the 
view behind them, as the Mokattam range does above and behind the citadel.” 

Between the old fortified city and the river there lies a new district of broad streets and 
regular rows of houses called the quarter Ismaiieeyah, not generally included as a part of 
Cairo proper. The city itself is walled off into quarters, which used to be separated by gates,, 
and are still known by distinct names. “ The majority of these quarters are built up in 
dwelling houses and are known by a name taken from some public building, from some 
person who once owned the property, or from some class of people who live there. 
Through the crowded districts of tortuous lanes and narrow, unpaved streets which 
once made up the entire city, fine new thoroughfares have been laid lately, and 
some of the dreary, neglected and choked-up lots have been transformed into open 
squares surrounded by handsome houses and some pretentious shops. From the foot of 
of the Citadel the Boulevard Mohammed Ali, the finest of the new streets, crosses the 
city in an almost northerly direction, ending in the Esbekeeyeh, the largest and best- 
known public place in Cairo. At the head of this Boulevard with some fine open squares 
leading to it on all sides is the finest mosque in the city. There are four hundred of 
these Oriental temples in Cairo, but no other is as magnificent as this of Sultan Hassan, 
almost under the shadow of the Citadel. It was finished in the year 1360 A. D., and as 
one of the most superb monuments to Mohammedan religion has made the reign of 
Hassan memorable forever. This, like the mosque on the Citadel, was built of blocks of 
stone brought from the Pyramids ; but has quite a different appearance, for that is 

built after the Constantinople fashion, and this in the Egyptian style. It has a 

lofty and beautifully ornamented porch, towering walls bordered with rich cor¬ 
nices and surmounted by graceful minarets, and broken by arches leading to the 

spacious court. There are many other fine mosques, among the shops and palaces, 
the houses and bazars that line the Boulevard Mohammed Ali, while into it open 
a great number of narrow, small streets. Those from the eastern side come from 
the medieval part, while among the lane-like thoroughfares on the west there are 
some of the new, broad streets of the modern districts. By one of them the Palace of 
Abdeen is soon reached, where the Khedive usually lives during the winter ; and further 
west, near the river bank, are the palace and gardens of Shoobra. This was the favorite 
residence of Mohammed Ali, and is now the terminus of one of the most fashionable 
afternoon drives out of Cairo. There are other smaller palaces along the river both 
above and below Shoobra, extending to Boolak on the north, and to old Cairo on the 


Cairo. 


283 


south. Around the Esbekeeyeh, the square in which the Boulevard of Mohammed Ali 
ends, are most of the principal hotels, the Opera House, the French Theater, the palace 
occupied by the Mixed Tribunals or Egyptian Parliament, the old palace of Mohammed 
Ali, several other palaces, consulates and many substantial looking buildings of stores 
and houses, some of which are built in arcades occupied by handsome shops on the 
ground floor, and spacious stories above let for offices and private residences. The 
Esbekeeyeh is very large, the thoroughfares surrounding it are long public squares and 
embellished with statuary and fountains. The roadways are broad, well kept, and well 
lighted with gas ; the foot pavements are wide and planted with trees. The 
center of the place is like a European public garden, with cafes, places of amusement, 
grottoes, and ornamental water. It is a great resort where a band plays toward 
evening, and little children run and have a good time in the early morning. Above, 
on the east, and partly below the Esbekeeyeh, lie the old quarters of the city, the true 
Cairo surrounding a bit of transplanted Europe. 

The quarters are no longer shut off from each other by gates, but they are still 
quite distinct, each having its sheykh, who keeps order among the people, and who must 
be consulted for permission to live in his quarter. In all these sections the streets are 
very narrow. This is due to the Cariean mode of building houses, each story projecting 
beyond that below it. Two persons may almost shake hands across the street from the 
upper windows ; in fact, in the Jews’ Quarter many of the houses of the two opposite 
sides actually touch each other at the upper stories. Narrow streets are very common to 
places in hot climates; for it makes both the houses and the streets cooler. Another 
reason, often the cause of setting buildings close together, was that the city was then more 
safe from the attack of enemies. “ The streets of Cairo stand alone in their remarkable 
picturesqueness and Oriental character. Its narrow thoroughfares, with their quaint 
projecting balconies, and here and there the large walls of a mosque whose minaret pierces 
the blue far up in the sky ; the thronging, turbaned crowd with every variety of strange 
costume and adornment; the camels with their silent tread, and heads lifted up as if 
sniffing the desert air from afar ; the bazars and inner courts with their glowing colors 
flung from Persian rugs, and carpets, lighted up by strong sunbeams, piercing the shelter¬ 
ing awnings.” 

The most of the poor people’s houses are miserable mud hovels with filthy courts, 
dilapidated windows and tattered awnings, but the dwellings of the rich are both beauti¬ 
ful and comfortable. Usually they are elaborately built in arabesque style, the basement 
story of the soft stone from the neighboring hills, and the upper story of painted brick. 
The stained glass windows are shaded by cornices that extend out from the wall in grace¬ 
ful ornaments. A winding passage leads through the ornamental doorway into the court, 
in the center of which is a fountain shaded with palm trees. The principal apartment is 
generally paved with marble ; in the center a decorated lantern is suspended over a fount- 


284 


Cities of the Woi'ld. 


ain, while round the sides are richly inlaid cabinets and windows of stained glass ; and 
in a recess is the divan, a low, narrow cushioned seat running around the walls. 

Throughout Cairo in all quarters there is a liberal supply of public fountains, which 
provide water to all free of cost. Some of these in the oldest parts are curious and beau¬ 
tiful pieces of Oriental art, while others are modern affairs after the style in Constantino¬ 
ple. Above the fountain there is usually a room where the free day school is held. Another 
picturesque sight in this Oriental city is at the baths. The places themselves are not as 
fine nor as handsome as in many Eastern cities ; but they are always inte’'esting ; they 
are all vapor-baths, and one may go alone or in a party to submit to the heat, the sham¬ 
pooing, the rubbing with horse-hair gloves and all the rest, which when done certainly is 
a success in the way of cleanliness, though at the cost of considerable discomfort. The 
baths are usually given up to the men in the morning, while only women go in the after¬ 
noon ; but some places have special days in the week devoted to women, while others are 
carried on exclusively for men, or for women at all times. The interior of the baths are 
gay and picturesque with a bright-colored entrance and passages prettily inlaid with 
colored stones. In every thing Cairo is an Oriental city, and is more interesting in this 
respect than any other Eastern town. It is full of romance, of picturesque Oriental 
wonders, of strange sights, strange noises and strange smells. Every little narrow lane, 
every turn—and the turns are incessant—every mosque, and every shop creates fresh 
surprise. Then there are the people,—not the white skinned European and American 
visitors, but the Cairean people: Muslims in gorgeous turbans, and long sashes, and a 
long cliibouque bound with colored silk and gold threads,”' followed by their slaves 
holding their gorgeous garments from the dirt of the streets; there are Copts, Abyssin- 
ians, Nubians and other native Africans ; there are Turks in baggy trowsers and 
fez ; and Jews, recognizable in any costume. Occasionally there is a lady, in a vast 
silken bag, bulging like a balloon over her donkey ; or in the twilight a long string of 
donkeys ambling by, each bearing one of the inflated balloons. This is a harem—the 
women of some household—“ taking the evening air, with the eunuch, like a captain riding 
before.” The next sight might be Sakkas, men with hog-skins slung over their backs, 
full of water, which they sell from house to house ; or peddlers with turbaned 

heads, walking about in their long robes, crying their wares. Now you see a gay 

bazar, and, walking in, inspect its stock of silks and embroidered stuffs, rich 

Persian carpets, or fine cloth. One of the finest bazars is the Khaleel, which 

is almost six hundred years old. Here there is nearly every thing for sale. One 
part is given up to carpet dealers, another to tradesmen in copper, in a part 
called “ within the chains ” are silks and other goods from Constantinople. 
Most of the shops in this and other bazars are kept by Turks, and are built open in 
front, very much resembling a cupboard. Mondays and Thursdays always being market 
days, there are special sales in the bazars, carried on by appraisers or rtV//aA,who “ wade 


A Icxandj'ia. 


285 

through the crowd, carrying drawn swords, fly-flaps, silk dresses, chain armor, amber 
mouth pieces, guns,” and a multitude of other kinds of articles, which they auction off, 
calling the price they are bid for them as they move along. Near the Khale'el is the Mar¬ 
ket of the Coppersmiths, and further on is the Bazar of the Gold-and-Silversmiths ; in 
another, crape, silks, cloths and other goods mostly made in Europe are sold ; in another 
attar of roses and other perfumes along with drugs and spices ; and another has ostrich 
eggs, Nubian spears and arrows and gum arabic ; and so on, even more numerous than 
the mosques, there are bazars large and small, whose showy booths offer for sale an 
endless variety of articles of every conceivable sort of use and ornament. The chief 
native manufactures of Cairo are gold and silver jewelry, silk and cotton stuffs, embroidery 
and native saddles, although many European industries have lately been introduced ; but 
a very large part of the people are occupied as porters, and venders of eatables ; many 
also are glaziers, boatmen on the Nile, donkey and camel drivers, water-carriers, coffee¬ 
house keepers, and in various other ways make their living in doing service to others. 
The hemalee supplies passengers with water, pouring it out of his brass spouted skin into 
a brass cup by which he measures it into the purchaser’s earthen vessel, which has a 
sprig of orange stuck in its mouth. H\\q sharbetlee sells an infusion of raisins or licor¬ 
ice, or some other sweet substance ; and the muscllikatee or pipe-cleaner goes about with 
a bundle of long wires and a bag of tow ready to clean any body’s shibook or long pipe. 
A favorite occupation at Cairo is that of beggar. Very little food and clothing are 
necessary in this climate, and starvation is a thing almost unheard of. The language of 
the Caireans is Arabic ; but in a city so full of many nationalities all tongues are heard, 
and everywhere European languages seem to be spoken and pretty well understood by 
the citizens of the Egyptian capital. Cairo is now, as it was of old, a great place for learn¬ 
ing. There are many students at the government colleges and national schools, while 
several thousand pupils attend the theological university attached to the mosque of Ezher. 
The most important people of Cairo now, the ruling class, are Turks, although there are 
greater numbers of Arabs, the former conquerors, than any other race. The Copts are 
descendants of the ancient Egyptians, but are no more numerous here now than Jews, 
Armenians, Syrians or Europeans. 

In ancient days Alexandria was the most grand, powerful and celebrated city of 
Egypt ; the times have changed, and with them the fair city has gone through many 
stages of decline and decay, followed by reviving importance, till now it is, next to the 
French city of Marseilles, the greatest port on the Mediterranean Sea. The modern 
Alexandria lies rather westward of where the old Ptolemies’ capital stood, much of it 
where, then, there was no land. The city is situated chiefly on a broad neck between two 
harbors, originally a mole built out to the island in the sea. The ruins and soil that 
have gathered about the old dike, have made it a good sized peninsula now. The harbor 
on the East is called the New Port, while the westerly harbor is known as the Old Port. 


^56 


Cities of the World. 


This is encircled almost half way round by the end of the island, which is now a part of 
the neck ; from this the port is further inclosed by a fine large breakwater. The city 
extends considerable distance along the lower banks of the harbors, and in scattered 
districts nearly to Lake Mareotis, which for a ylong way is only separated from the 
Mediterranean by a strip of land but a few miles in width. 

Alexandria is not a handsome nor a very interesting city ; it lies low, amid sandy, 
flat, and sterile surroundings. The way from the harbor lies through the narrow and 
irregular streets of the Turkish quarter, in which the houses seem to have been thrown 
together by chance ; and few have the Oriental appearance which is so interesting at 
Cairo. Here and there, however, you see a lattice work window or a Saracene arch, 
which make the street look picturesque. In the road through the bazars, which is a 
long one and can only be made on foot, there are many novel and eastern scenes. Beyond 
this, at the eastern end of the town, is the European quarter, the furthest from the Old 
Port, because, European vessels being formerly confined to the eastern harbor, the con¬ 
suls and merchants built their houses and carried on their business in that direction. 
This section of the city, called the Frank Quarter, is like an European town with handsome 
streets and squares built up with solid, stately buildings and occupied by excellent shops. 
Nearly all the streets have been paved lately. The principal hotels, shops, and bankers’ 
and merchants’ offices are situated in the Great Square forming the European center of 
the city, which the native Alexandrians call the Place of Mohammed Ali. At one cor¬ 
ner is the English church, beside the handsome French Consulate ; the open body of the 
square is a favorite promenade, planted with trees and provided with seats. Here, pass¬ 
ing and repassing the fountains and the statuary, there is something like the same fan¬ 
tastic crowd you see in the great square of Cairo, except that the people of Alexandria 
are more mixed if any thing. About one-fourth of its two hundred thousand are Greeks, 
Italians, and—in fewer numbers—other Europeans. The avenues around the great square 
are broad and attractive thoroughfares leading to all parts of the city. The houses are 
built in large blocks called Okelles, but the public buildings are all plain and insignifi¬ 
cant, and neither mosques nor churches have any particular interest. There are Cleo¬ 
patra’s needle, however, and some other remains of ancient Alexandrian glories that every 
visitor goes to see. Pompey’s Pillar and some of the old tombs and churchyards are 
also full of historical interest ; but modern Alexandria has a long way to go yet before 
it can draw to itself any thing to compare with the interest felt for its magnificent pre¬ 
decessor. 

The principal means of traveling around the city is in carriages or on donkeys, both 
of which abound everywhere. The commerce of the city is in exportation of cotton, beans, 
corn, and sugar, gums, coffee, ivory, wool, linseed and mother of pearl to England and 
France ; and in importation of manufactured goods and coal from England, wood, oils, 
wines, and liquors, from the lower European countries; raw silk, provisions and marbles. 


Alexandria, 


and stones. The native industries are principally embroidering in gold and silk, cotton 
weaving, making pipe-stems, tobacco, arms and some other old established crafts ; while 
the Europeans have introduced many factories for supplying home needs, like starch, 
soap, gas, candles and such things. The Eastern or New Port has only been used by 
small native vessels for a long time, being too much exposed to the north winds and un¬ 
safe from the rocks and shoals. The only noteworthy canal nowadays, is the Mahmoo- 



PLACE OF MOHAMMED ALI, ALEXANDRIA. 

deeyeh, which begins at the village of Atfeh, on a branch of the Nile, and extends fifty 
miles eastward with an average width of about a hundred feet. For some distance the 
right bank is bordered with the houses and gardens of wealthy Alexandrians and is the 
fashionable afternoon promenade. The terminus of the canal is at the Old Port, near • 
the western outskirts of the city, where there are storehouses and quays and busy scenes 
of commercial life. 











INDIA. 



T he largest city of Hindostan is Bombay. It covers part of the lower end of the 
island of Bombay, which lies not far from shore, at about the central point of the 
western coast line of the great peninsula. The view of the city from the entrance to 
the harbor is a beautiful one. Forests of motionless palm-trees cover the lower hills, 
along the margin of the shore. 

The bays and river-like reaches 
of the sea are thick with islands 
whose masses of tropical green 
stand out clearly from the back¬ 
ground of singular hills, which in 
terraces, mounds or sharp pinna¬ 
cles lift themselves up to the 
cloudless sky above and from the 
gleaming blue sea sometimes over¬ 
hung by a soft bright haze. In the 
harbor are ships from every clime, 
of every size, lying at anchor, 
crowding the wharves, and num¬ 
berless boats with their large mat¬ 
ting sails and covered poop, and 
iegular splashing oars gliding on 
countless errands here and there 
among the larger craft. The island 
of Bombay has an area of about 
twenty-two square miles, consist¬ 
ing of a plain about eleven miles 
long and three miles broad sur¬ 
rounded by two parallel lines of 
low hills. At the south-west of 
the island an inward sweep of the bedouin and fellah. 

sea forms a large shallow basin called the Back Bay ; but the frontage of the city is to¬ 
ward the east, overlooking the capacious harbor. This is not connected with the Bay, 
which is separated from the sea by small islands, connected with the larger one by cause- 





Bombay. 


289 


ways. The most southerly of these is Calaba, and next above that is Old Woman’s Isle ; 
both are a sort of suburb of the larger island of Bombay. Above the Old Woman is the 
Fort, and beyond that a great railway terminus, and immense barracks extending to the 
European town, while about a mile still further north is the much larger native city, 
known as Black town. 

Beyond the net-work of masts and rigging that almost hides the docks, there are 
steeples and white houses showing among the trees the first glimpses of the famous 
city of Bombay, “ with its worshipers of fire and fine gold.” 

The first sight on landing at the celebrated port of Western India is a multitude of 
busy, half dressed black men. They are Coolies, or the laborers and porters of the city, 
a numerous class, whose rights and wrongs have been matters of serious discussion 
among great men. The town is well built, with spacious streets and substantial houses, 
but with very little grandeur. There are no imposing temples or mosques, no mighty- 
public buildings,overlooking grand 
avenues or handsome squares ; nor 
is there any thing particularly ori¬ 
ental looking about the place, not 
even the camels, the radiant colors 
and fantastic crowds of Cairo. 

Notwithstanding it is so much 
further East it seems far less orien¬ 
tal than the Levantine towns. It 
is simply a broad level commercial 
city—in India, but of England—it 
is an Indian Liverpool. Neat 
broughams and carriages of Euro¬ 
pean build roll through its streets, 
carrying natives or aliens in much the same style ; but among these there are also numbers 
of the “wooden cabs— dak-gharies —with their Venetian blinds, buggies, buffalo carts and 
wagons, and sometimes quaint native conveyances. The crowds that walk along are 
chiefly made up of naked coolies, with legs like those of a crane ; and of white-robed, soft- 
faced, large-eyed Parsees with white stockings and polished shoes ; of Hindoos, broad fea¬ 
tured or fine featured, dark complexioned or olive complexioned, all in turbans, and many 
holding white umbrellas as they waddle along, some, even of the better sort, with bare 
feet. There are no armed natives to be seen, but everywhere the commerce of an Euro¬ 
peanized city where every one is up to the ears in cotton.” Cotton cloth and yarn are the 
greatest manufactures of the city, while dyeing, tanning and working in metals are also ac¬ 
tive trades. Many people are employed in cultivating cocoanut trees and in preparing 
intoxicating drinks from the juice of different species of the palm. 




290 


Cities of the World, 


Many of the fine dwellings look like huge Swiss cottages nestling among trees. 
These are one story buildings called bungalotvs ; they are surrounded by a magnificent 
veranda, built on a platform raised about ten or twelve feet above the ground, and with a 
sort of corridor, having many doorways leading into beautiful rooms furnished 

after European fashion 


^ with some Oriental ad¬ 
ditions. On every side 
the veranda and the 
rooms beyond are open 
to catch all the breeze 
possible. The bunga¬ 
low usually stands in 
the midst of a garden 
full of flowers and roses, 
large leaved plants. 
Eastern exotics, the 
home of big butterflies, 
huge moths, and many 
sweetly piping birds. 
Every thing is arranged 
with the greatest com¬ 
fort, elegance and lux¬ 
ury. There are always 
great numbers of serv¬ 
ants connected with 
such a house—about 
forty in doors and out 
—all men, or boys, 
wearing turbans and 
white cotton garments, 
and going about bare¬ 
footed. Enormous 
sums are paid for the 
rent of such houses; 
but then the expense 
of living in Bombav 



TEMPLE AND SACRED ELEPHANT. 


is great in every way, beyond that of any other town, in India, or perhaps in Europe. 

The private houses of the European residents lie apart both from the native and from 
the mercantile quarters of the town. The favorite of these suburbs is along the lower end 





































tiiivr/, 






PALACE OF THE SETHS 





































































































































































































292 


Cities of the World. 


of the western shore of the island from Breach Candy to Malabar Point. The hand¬ 
somest houses are on the high ridge called Malabar Hill, which, terraced to the top with 
noble villas, forn s the western inclosure of Back Bay, and commands one of the finest 
views in the world. The end of this hill is called the Malabar Point. Here stands the 
Government House close to the edge of the steep cliff overlooking the water. One of 
the most beautiful drives on the island is along the sea here, as far northward as Breach 
Candy. A short distance from the Government House throngs of Hindoos are fre¬ 
quently seen coming from the temple of Vdlukeshuar, or Sand Lord, which is quite a 
celebrated place, with its water tank and a noble flight of steps leading to it. The 
tank is shaded by fine trees and encircled by snow-white pagodas and neat houses of 
brahmans. The Hindoo temples usually have several small chapels or deep niches in 
the platform at one end where the strange looking images are kept. Three or four 
wretched lookingor ascetics usually sit on the ground, their bodies covered with 
ashes, their hair matted, and their blank faces looking too ignorant or too weak to be 
earnest or enthusiastic about any thing. Offerings to the holy men and to the gods are 
placed before the jyogtes, such as little bouquets of flowers with vessels of holy water, 
fruit and rice. These yogtes live on charity. The milk of the sacred cows, which are 
kept at the temples, is theirs. They are looked upon as holy men, but are, as a rule, 
beggars, liars, and in many ways a most unworthy set of human beings, who behave 
unlike men with divine natures. Another, and different sort of temple, of which there 
are many in Bombay, is devoted to fire worship, the Parsee religion. Unbelievers are 
not permitted to visit the most sacred of them. One that is near Malabar Point is a 
little square house with a pent roof and small iron-grated windows and a door strongly 
padlocked. Within a fire is kept burning with the sweetest kind of woods. It is never 
allowed to die out, and to throw any thing impure upon it is a crime. 

The Parsee cemetery is on the Hill, inclosing within its walls the Towers of Silence, 
which are about as high as a four-story house. “ When a fire-worshiper dies, his body 
is placed in the tower upon an iron grating that gradually slopes downward toward a 
sort of pit in the bottom. Vultures are generally to be seen perched on the top of the 
towers ; it is generally believed that they live upon the flesh of the dead, although this 
has been denied. Parsees will not tell, and strangers are not allowed in the towers 
when any bodies are exposed, so the matter remains an open question.” 

The small eastern peninsula of Bombay which lies between Back Bay and the har¬ 
bor is mainly occupied by the fort, but the city is well built up all the way around the 
bay, and has some fine streets, and a long, broad esplanade leading from Malabar to the 
fort, or lying between the latter and the closely built-up city above. The old castle 
stands in about the center of the fortifications overlooking the harbor, while on the land 
side a long semi-circular line of ramparts and moats extends from about a half-mile 
above to a half-mile below the central poinr. The castle, which is the oldest part of the 



fort, was built, or partly built, by the Portuguese, who held the island in the sixteenth 
century. 

Adjoining the castle to the south is the Hornby battery, with its score of guns; next 
to this is the Custom House with other batteries beyond. 

The Town Hall, which is the best, and about the only really fine building in Bom¬ 
bay, stands in front of the castle, its colonnade overlooking the fifteen-acre park of tire 
fort familiarly known as the Green, and it is partially shaded by tamarind trees, embel- 


P.^RSEE CHILDREN. 

lished with statuary and surrounded on all sides by large public buildings, including 
the Grecian-looking mint and the cathedral. 

If the European quarter seems an ordinary commonplace looking town, it is clean 
and respectable, which can not be said of Black town. “ No Irish village of the worst 
kind has a look of greater poverty, confusion and utter discomfort. The low huts are 
covered with palm leaves, the drains are open, the naked children have naked fathers 
and miserable looking mothers, and no one seems to attempt to make the homes look 
decent.” The houses of the wealthy are little better managed, but stand out of sight in 
the midst of a cool garden. 








294 


Cities of the World. 


The climate is so warm that their home life is almost all out of doors ; the children 
are round, plump and shiny ; no one needs much clothing, and a little rice is all the 
food necessary. 

Perhaps the most interesting places in the city are the great bazars. The build¬ 
ings are three or four stories high, with elaborately carved pillars and ornamental 
work on the fronts, lining both sides of the narrow streets. They are crowded with 
people and over-loaded with goods of every description. The chintz bazar, the 
most curious of any, skirts that part of the bay, where the native shipping gath¬ 
ers. Here the “ merchandise and produce of all nations seem garnered in one 
common store. Piles of rich gums and aromatic spices, carboys of oil 



AT SCHOOL. 

and rosewater, pure ivory from Ceylon, rhinoceros hides from Zanzibar, the richest 
produce of Africa, India, Persia and Arabia, is here cast in large heaps, mingling with 
Coir cables, huge blocks, and ponderous anchors,” for they are soon to be exported to 
craftsmen who will make the rich materials doubly valuable by their skillful handling. 
“ On the highway porters bending beneath square balls of tightly compressed cotton, 
stagger to and fro ; Arabs with ponderous turbans of finely checked cloth and Aabas 
loosely flowing lounge lazily along ; Persians in silken vests with black lambskin caps, 
the softest produce of Bokhara, tower above the dense crowd of human beings, jostling 







Bombay, 


295 



against each other in one great dusty, noisy throng. Banians, dirty and bustling, wear¬ 
ing red turbans, bristling with memoranda ; Bangies with suspended bales, or well-filled 
water vessels ; Fakirs from every part of India ; Jains in the snowy vests, and with staff 
and brush ; Padres with round black hat and sable coats ; Jews,” and countless others 
make up the ever changing, moving mass, through which a bullock carriage will now and 
then force its way, or a Parsee will dash in his gayly painted buggy. The Arab stables 


TOMB AT AHAR. 

which occupy a considerable space in the great bazar, are a great attraction to the 
gentlemen of the Presidency, for all military men in India consider it necessary to own 
at least a couple of horses. 

Most of the eight hundred thousand people in Bombay are Hindoos and Mohamme¬ 
dans, while about ten thousand are Europeans, and three times that many are Parsees, 
or descendants of Persian fire-worshipers. These are among the richest and the best 
people of the Presidency. The capital of British India is Calcutta. It is a city of 
about a thousand less people than Bombay, and lies on the Hoogly River, about a 































296 


Cities of the World. 


hundred miles from where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. This substantial, stately 
city is very unlike Bombay. It is “in every respect worthy of being the capital of the 
realm, incomparable to any other Eastern city.” It lies on the left, or upper, the eastern 
bank of the broad river, skirted by a canal on the land side, threaded by broad hand¬ 
some streets, running at right angles to each other, with an intricate net-work of narrow 
lanes between. Along the river runs the Strand, much as in the greatest English capital. 
None of the streets are paved, but the water carriers keep the dust down from their 
great skin vessels and the splendid blocks of mansions are finer than those of any other 
Hindoo city. “ The breadth of the great thoroughfares, the size and the imposing style 
of the residences which line them, the spacious arrangements for air and gardens for 
shade which the climate makes necessary, all tend to spread the European portion of 
Calcutta over a greater extent of ground than any other capital; and give, it must be 
added, a certain sadness and dullness to the place in spite of the brilliant sunlight.” 
The heat is so intense that the interiors of all houses have to be darkened by somber 
green blinds on the windows. Some of the houses have rather a dilapidated look, from 
the blotches and stains that the weather, with its monsoon rains and scorching summer 
heat, makes on the plaster with which the walls are built. 

The glory of Calcutta is the Maidan or Park. It is a large parallelogram, with the 
Government House, stately and imposing, standing at one end, with the Town Hall, 
'treasury, and High Court near by. Opposite is Fort William, occupying the center of 
the plain, which lies for a mile and a half along the river’s edge at the southern end of 
town. Along the one side is the noble street of Chowsinghee with its princely dwellings ; 
while parallel with and opposite to it flows the great river. No other city has a fine 
stream so near to the Park, the fashionable drive and the beautiful homes. And, 
moreover, this river is the Hoogly branch of the old Ganges, whose waters are sacred to 
the Hindoo nation. In the evening every body seems to enjoy this luxur}^ Carriage after 
carriage rolls along with native drivers and footmen, without shoes or stockings. The 
Viceroy’s carriage is often among the rest, with its outriders and splendid looking mounted 
body-guard dressed in high boots and scarlet uniform, and bearing lance and pennon. Na¬ 
tive gentlemen—but never ladies—of every title, rank, from the prince, or the rich merchant, 
down to the most ordinary and commonplace Oriental, pass in equipages and dress cor¬ 
responding to their respective rank and wealth. Only, no one goes on foot, for such 
exercise, if taken at all, is at early morning. Flowing beside all this busy stream of 
human life is the grand old river, with the finest ships of the commercial navies of all 
nations riding on its broad tide. Here there are no ugly wharfs or storehouses ; they are 
further along. The banks and the waters of the river are both fair and pure. But along 
the shore near the busiest haunts of the commercial city dying creatures, half immersed 
in the sacred waters, may be seen at any hour ; and there, too, are dead bodies in the 
process of burning. 



Calcutta. 


297 


The Indian side of Calcutta is quite as characteristic of its Eastern inhabitants as 
the other is of its Western. Miserable-looking huts are huddled together in the midst 
of which cows, buffaloes, goats, naked children, and lank-looking grown folks rove about, 
every one as it wishes. There are about sixty thousand such huts in the city, for this is 
the most densely peopled part of the capital. Out of the sixteen square miles covered 
by Calcutta, six are occupied by the 1 ative town, and contain more than half the popu¬ 
lation. The streets are generally narrow, and the dusty brick houses which line them 
have not a single picturesque feature, even the bazars are uninteresting, except for the 



MOSQUE AT BENARES. 

crowds, whose turbans of various shapes, sizes and colors, look like a bed 01 moving 
tulips. In some of the streets there is a small stream of water in an open channel raised 
two or three feet above the roadway. This rivulet of Ganges water has great value in 
the eyes of the natives, who sit by it at their work, or have their shops open upon it. 

'Fhe hour of dinner in India is generally eight o’clock, in the cool of the evening after 
the labors of the day are over ; and these are very substantial affairs with European 
residents. It is the custom also, to rise early, so as to enjoy the cool of the morning. 

The houses of the native aristocracy in Calcutta are always large, but seem to be in 
a state of confusion, neglected and dirty. The rooms or cells, off its verandas, are fur- 















298 


Cities of the World. 


nished in the native style, which to us would look decidedly unfurnished ; but one roon> 
kept for show, or fof entertaining Europeans, is filled with comforts and luxuries familiar 
to us. An English traveler, describing the most aristocratic house he saw in India, 
says: “It was a large, square-looking palace, surrounded by a considerable space of 
ground, high railings separating it from the streets of the native town. A huge bull 
was feeding in the large ‘ compound,’ or, as we would say, on the grounds. There was 
a guard of native infantry at the main entrance to the house, the owner being of high 
rank. Around the compound was a very large and interesting collection of beasts and 
birds, many of them rare, and arranged as in the Zoological Gardens ; among the ani¬ 
mals was a huge and venerable tortoise, which had been in the possession of the family 
for about seventy years, having been more than that age when purchased by them. The 
house was built in the form of a square, with an inner court. The drawing-room and all 
the apartments for guests were splendidly furnished in the best European style, but none 
of these are occupied by the family.’’ The private life of all natives is in very 
simple apartments with more or less disorder and neglect ; but these the visitor does 
not see, and would never imagine from the polished manners and extravagant luxury 
of their reception-rooms. 

Representatives of all the leading races and forms of religious belief in the world 
are to be found here. Calcutta has over a hundred and seventy heathen temples. Many 
are insignificant, many others important. Altogether, the English capital of India has so 
many fine buildings, that, like St. Petersburg, it is sometimes called the City of Palaces. 
It is the greatest commercial center in Asia ; it sends out large quantities of jute, cotton, 
rice, sugar, indigo, coffee, tea, saltpeter, linseed, shellac, buffalo horns, hides, and other 
things ; its industries are many, but the principal ones are sugar works, mills for cotton, 
flour, and oil, and extensive shipbuilding. 

One of the best built cities of India is Madras, an important southern seaport in 
the Bay of Bengal. The Hindoo temples and palaces are few ; the buildings have an 
European look. Among the finest of these are three cathedrals, several colleges, a 
museum, and an astronomical observatory. As in Calcutta, the streets of the native 
town are narrow and squalid, while those of the European part are wide and hand¬ 
some. 

With its nine suburbs Madras lies along the coast for nine miles, and extending 
inland about three and a half miles wide. The fort is in about the center of the shore 
line, with the public buildings. The low lying native district on the north is Black 
town, defended from the sea by a strong stone bulwark. The city carries on a large 
trade, although it has no harbor. Ships anchor two miles from shore, while their cargoes 
and passengers are landed through the surf in light flat-bottomed boats ; but sometimes 
the surf is too high for these, and then the fishermen go out on log rafts, or perhaps do 
not attempt to breast the waves. 


Madras. 


299 



Coffee is the largest export from Madras, while it has also a large trade in rice, cot¬ 
ton, hides, and skins. The population of the city is about four hundred and fifty 
thousand, the same as the great German seaport of Hamburg. 


HINDOO IDOLS. 













CHINA. 


BOUT one-twelfth of all the land on the globe, and about one-third of all the 



people in the world belong to the Empire of China. For more than four hundred 
and fifty years the capital of this vast nation has been Pekin, which next to London 
and Paris is the largest city in the world. It stands at the base of a hill on the river 
Tunghin, about a hundred miles from the China Sea. Long before the Christian era it 
was the capital of the Yen kingdom, and was the imperial seat of many of the later 
dynasties. Its ancient wall, of earth with brick put on the outside, is about twenty 
miles long, and incloses nearly twenty-six square miles, and between one and two 
million people. The wall varies from thirty to fifty feet high, and from fifteen to sixty 
feet thick. Every fifty feet there is an opening for cannon or muskets, and in many 
places there is an incline on the inner side, so that horsemen can go, without slipping, 
from one level to a higher one, till they reach the top of the wall, which is paved like a 
roadway. There are square towers or buttresses built out from this parapeted wall, 
only about fifty yards apart all the way around. Outside of each of the thirteen gates 
leading from the city to the open country, there is a small suburb, which, altogether, 
forms quite an important part of Pekin. The gates are very interesting and curious, 
each with its watch-tower nine stories high, perforated with many cannon holes. The 
moat around the city is fed from the Tunghurei River, which also supplies all the other 
canals leading across or through the city. Pekin is in two parts, that are in reality two 
separate cities ; the Northern or Tartar city is longer than it is broad, and the Southern 
or Chinese city, adjoining it on the south, is broader than it is long, so the general shape 
of Pekin is like the letter T upside down. The Northern, also called the Tartar and 
the Manchu City, is a trifle the larger, containing fifteen square miles, and most of the 
important places of the capital, and its walls, which on the south inclose it from the 
southern city, are twice as thick and much higher than those of the other division. The 
northern city has three parts, one within another. The smallest, occupying a square in 
the center, is inclosed by a wall covered with bright yellow tiles, guarded by numerous 
stations of bannermen and soldiers, and surrounded by a deep wide moat ; it is divided 
into three sections by two walls running from south to north. In the center division are 
the buildings especially devoted to the Emperor, and whenever he passes through it a 
bell placed in the tower above is struck ; when the troops return in triumph, a drum is 
beaten, and the prisoners are presented to him, and other state ceremonies take place. 



STREET, PEKIM 

















































































































































302 


Cities of the World. 


Beyond the southern gate leading to this division there is a large, handsome court, and 
beyond that another, paved with marble, and ending on the sides by gates, porticos, and 
pillared corridors. At the head of this is a superb marble structure, over a hundred 
feet high, and standing on a great marble terrace. Five flights of stairs, decorated with 
balustrades and sculptures, lead up to this Hall of Highest Peace, and five doors open 
through into the next court-yard. Upon the great throne in the midst of this spacious 
pillared hall, the Emperor holds his levees on New Year’s Day, his birthday, and other 
state occasions ; about fifty courtiers stand near him, while those of noble and lower 
dignity and rank stand in the court below in regular grades. Beyond this are the Hall 
of Central Peace, and the Palace of Heavenly Purity, that is, the Emperor’s dwelling. 
The last is the most important, and the loftiest and most magnificent of all the palaces. 
In the court before it is a small tow'er of gilt copper, adorned with a great number of 
figures, and on each side are large incense vases, for religious use. Beyond it stands 
the Palace of Earth’s Repose, where the wife of the Emperor, “Heaven’s Consort,’’ 
rules her miniature court in the imperial harem. There are numerous smaller buildings 
in this part of the Forbidden City, and adjoining the northern wall is the imperial 
Flower Garden, adorned with elegant pavilions, temples, and groves, and interspersed 
with canals, fountains, pools, and flower-beds. In the eastern division of the Prohibited 
city are the offices of the Cabinet and the Treasury of the palace. North of it lies the 
Hall of Intense Thought, where sacrifices are offered to Confucius and other sages. 
Near by is the Library or Hall of the Literary Abyss, and at the northern end of the 
division are numerous palaces and buildings occupied by princes of the blood. The 
western division contains a great variety of edifices, among which are the Hall of Distin¬ 
guished Sovereigns, the Guardian Temple of the City, the Court of Controller, for states¬ 
men and literati, and the Printing Office. The Court paper, generally called the J^ehn 
Gazette, has lately somewhat altered its form, and changed its name to King Pao, which 
means Metropolitan Reporter. This is the oldest newspaper in the world ; it was estab¬ 
lished in the year 911, and has been published regularly since 1351. Under the new 
arrangements three editions are published ; the first, the King-Paou, printed upon yellow 
paper, constitutes the official gazette of the Middle Kingdom ; the second, the Using- 
Paou (commercial journal), also printed upon yellow sheets, contains information inter¬ 
esting to the trading community ; while the third, the Titani Paou (provincial gazette), 
printed upon red paper, consists of extracts from the other two editions. The total cir¬ 
culation of the three issues is fifteen hundred copies. The editorship is confined to a 
committee of six members of the Academy of Han-Lin. 

The second inclosure, or Imperial City, is about three times as large as the Prohibited 
City, oblong in shape, with a gate in each of the four walls. Outside the southern 
entrance there is quite a large space walled in, with a gate on the south called that of 
Great Purity ; and no one is allowed to enter it except on foot, unless by special permis- 




STREET IN HONG KONG 



















304 Cities of the Wo 7 'ld. 

sion. In the Imperial City are the palaces of the princes, temples, and some of the 
government offices. 

In all Chinese buildings, from palace to hovel, both temples and private dwellings, 
there is one general style of steep concave roof. Dwelling-houses are usually of one 
story, having neither cellars nor basements, and lighted by lattices opening into a court ; 
they must not be as high as the temples near by, nor be ornamented in the same fashion 
as the palaces and religious buildings. The houses are commonly made of bricks, adobe 
or matting for the walls, stone for the foundation, brick tiling for the roof, and wood 
only for the inside work ; stone and wooden houses are so rare that they always attract 
attention. In the better sort of houses the stonework of the foundation rises three or 
four feet above the ground. This is not stone from the solid rock of the earth, but a 
manufactured article, made of sifted earth, that is, decomposed granite or gravel and 
lime mixed with water, and sometimes a little oil, pounded into a solid mass. The frame* 
work under the wide eaves of the palaces is tastefully painted in green and gold, and 
protected by a netting of copper wire. The yellow and green glazed tiles of public 
buildings, and the dragons’ heads and globes on their ridgepoles, and the earthen dogs 
at the corners of temples and official houses make some of the streets very pictur¬ 
esque, The rooms of the dwellings are arranged in sets, separated and lighted by 
courts between, and reached by corridors. Town houses have no opening on their 
fronts except the door, and when the outer walls of several houses join those of gardens 
and inclosures, the long line of the whole street is unbroken by steps, windows, bal¬ 
conies, porticos, or front yards. The bricks are the same size as our own, and usually 
burned to a grayish slate color. The walls are often stuccoed, or occasionally rubbed 
smooth and pointed with fine cement. In place of a broad cornice the top is frequently 
relieved by a pretty ornament of molded work of painted clay figures in high relief, 
representing a battle scene, a landscape, clusters of flowers, or some other design, de¬ 
fended from the weather by the projecting eaves, a covered corridor communicating with 
each, or by side passages leading through the courts. Here, and in all cities where the 
houses are cramped and the lots irregular in shape, the size and shape of the rooms vary. 

In the second inclosure are the Great Temple of the imperial ancestors and other 
altars and temples, very holy to the Chinese, and most interesting to foreigners. In the 
northern part of this division of the city a moat and wall, more than a mile around, 
inclose the Prospect Hill. This is an artificial mound nearly a hundred and fifty feet 
high, with each of its five summits crowned with a temple, while trees of various kinds 
border its base, and line the paths leading to the tops. The western part of this inclos¬ 
ure is chiefly occupied by the beautiful Western Park ; a lake in the center is adorned 
with the splendid lotus, crossed by a fine marble bridge from one bank to another, 
shaded by groves of trees, under which are well paved walks, leading to other parks 
adjoining. Although these parks are designed to be as handsome as possible, the effect 


Pekin. 


305 


of their beauty is marred by poor keeping. There are about two hundred palaces in the 
inclosures, each of which is said to be large enough to accommodate the greatest of 
European noblemen with all his retinue. 

Along the avenue leading south from the Imperial City to the division wall, are the 
principal government offices, a temple for the worship of ancestors in the midst of a 
grove of fir and other trees, and, partly upon the wall, is the Observatory, under the 
care of Chinese astronomers. The instruments are arranged on a terrace higher than 
the city wall, and are beautiful pieces of bronze art, though now too antiquated to be 
useful for practical observations. Some distance from here is one of the many 
lamasaris of the city. This is the Buddhist Convent of Eternal Peace, wherein about 
fifteen hundred Mongol and Tibetan priests study the dogmas of Buddhism, or spend 
their days in idleness, under the control of a Genen, or living Buddha. Directly west of 
this, presenting the greatest contrast to its life and activity, lies the Confucian Temple, 
where, embowered in a grove of ancient cypresses, stands the imposing Literary Temple, 
in which the “ Example and Teacher of all Ages ” and ten of his great disciples are 
worshiped. 

The division of the Northern Pekin, lying outside the Imperial City, is called the 
General City. This is the home of the people ; it is more densely populated than the 
other parts and contains the most important of the public offices, all the foreign lega¬ 
tions, and many other places of special note in the empire. 

The Chinese government is a remarkable one for many reasons : it is very ancient; 
it rules vast multitudes of people, who are, in the main, quiet, able and industrious. 
The general plan is like that of a great household. The Emperor is the father, or sire, 
the head of the house ; his officers are the responsible elders of its provinces, depart¬ 
ments, and districts, as every father of a household is of its inmates ; and nowhere has 
this system been so thoroughly regulated and so consistently carried out for so long a 
time, as in China. Nominally there is-nothing to correspond to a congress or parliament 
in the Chinese government, still there are two imperial councils, the Cabinet, or Imperial 
Chancery, and the Council of State, each of which has different power, the Council 
more than the Cabinet. Subordinate to these two Councils are several Boards, each of 
which looks after special divisions of the government interests, and below them come 
rank after rank of inferior officers, none of which are in any way elected by the people. 
All officers of government are supposed to be ready to see visitors on special business 
at any time, and the door of justice is open to all who claim a hearing ; and in fact, 
courts are held at all hours of night and day, though the regular time is from sunrise to 
noonday. Magistrates are not allowed to go abroad in ordinary dress or without their 
official retinue, which varies for the different grades of rank. 

North of the Imperial City lies the extensive Yamun of the Ti-tuh, who has the 
police and garrison of the city under his control and exercises great authority in its civil 


Cities of the World. 


306 

administration. Close by are the Drum and Bell Towers on the street that leads through 
the center of the northern part of the General City to the Wall. Each of the towers is 
over a hundred feet high. The drum and bell are sounded at night watches, and can 
be heard throughout the city ; an ancient clypsydra is stilt kept to mark time, although 
clocks are now in general use and correct the errors of the clypsydra itself. Outside of 
the south-western angle of the Imperial City stands the Mohammedan Mosque, and a 
large number of Turks whose ancestors were brought from Turkestan about a century 
ago live in its vicinity ; this is the chief resort of Moslems who come to the capital. 
There are religious edifices in the Chinese metropolis appropriated to many forms of 
religion, for the inhabitants of the city are divided into sects of the Greek, Latin and 
Protestant Churches ; Islams, Buddhists, Rationalists, worshipers of ancestors, of State, 
of Confucius, and other mortals whom they look upon as having become gods, beside a 
great number of popular idols of the country. The principal streets of the General City 
are from a hundred and forty to two hundred feet wide ; they are unpaved, and lined 
with rows of shops, painted red, blue and green, and decorated with curious signs of 
Chinese characters in gilding or gayly painted colors, and balustrades and terraces on the 
roofs. The broad thoroughfares leading across Pekin, from one gate to the other, 
appear even wider than they are from the lowness of the buildings ; the center is about 
two feet higher than the sides. The cross streets in the main city are generally at right 
angles with them, not over forty feet wide, and for the most part occupied with dwellings. 
The inhabitants of the avenues are required to keep them well sprinkled in summer ; but 
in rainy weather they are almost impassable from the mud and deep puddles, the level 
surface of the ground, and obstructed, neglected drains, preventing rapid drainage. The 
crowds which throng these avenues, some engaged in various callings, along the side or 
in the middle of the way, others busily passing and repassing, together with the gay 
appearance of the sign-boards, and an air of business in the shops, make the great streets 
very bustling—and to a foreigner a most interesting—scene. Shop-fronts can be 
entirely opened when necessary ; they are constructed of panels or shutters fitting into 
grooves, and secured to a row of strong posts set into mortises. At night, when the shop 
is closed, nothing of it can be seen from without; but it is gay and full of life in the day¬ 
time when the goods are exposed. The sign-boards are often broad planks, fixed in 
stone vases on each side of the shop-front, and reaching to tlie eaves, or above them ; 
the characters are large and of different colors, and in order to attract more notice the 
signs are often hung with various colored flags, bearing inscriptions setting forth the 
excellence of the goods. The shops in the outer city are often built in this manner, 
others are more compact for warmth in winter, but as a whole they are not brilliant in 
their fittings. Their signs are, when possible, images of the articles sold, and always have 
the red pennon attached ; the finer shop-fronts are covered with gold-leaf, brilliant when 
new, but fading soon, and then shabby enough. So the appearance of the main streets 









































































































































































































































































































































































































3o8 


Cities of the World. 

is a curious mixture of decay and decoration, increased by the dilapidated temples and 
governmental buildings everywhere seen, and which the treasury of the Empire is not 
full enough to remedy. 

The most picturesque of all the Chinese capitals is Hangchau, of the maritime 
country of Chehkiang. This is about the size of Ohio, and while it is the smallest of the 
eighteen provinces, it is one of the richest of all. Hangchau is but one of its great cities, 
and is situated in the northern part near the river Tsientang. One half of the people 
live within the city walls, and the other dwell in the surrounding suburbs or on the 
waters. 

The southern city, beyond the southern walls, or cross-wall, as it is called, of the 
Inner City, is mostly inhabited by Chinese, and has more dissipation and less dignity and 
good behavior than the northern city ; contains hundreds of lewin-kwa/i, or club-houses, 
erected by the gentry of cities and districts of all parts of the empire to accommodate 
their citizens while staying at the capital. Its streets are narrow, but every thing about 
its buildings and markets shows that the people are industrious and full of life, and store¬ 
houses, theaters, granaries and markets attract or supply their customers from all parts 
of the country. 

During the night the thoroughfares are quiet ; they are lighted a little by lanterns 
hanging before the houses, but generally are dark and cheerless. Carts, mules, and 
donkeys and horses are to be hired in all the thoroughfares. 

Nearly one half of the Outer City is empty of dwellings, much of the open land being 
cultivated. But the principal part of the provision required for the supply of this 
immense city comes from the southern provinces, and from flocks reared beyond the wall. 
It has no important manufactures, horn lanterns, wall papers, stone snuff-bottles, and 
pipe mouth-pieces being the chief ones. Trade in silks, foreign fabrics, and food is 
limited to supplying the local demand, inasmuch as a heavy duty at the gates 
restrains all enterprise. No foreign merchant is allowed to carry on business here. The 
government of Pekin differs from that of other cities in the empire, in its divisions and 
officers. 

The environs beyond the suburbs outside the gates, are occupied by tombs, tem¬ 
ples, private mansions, hamlets, and cultivated fields, in or near which are trees, so that 
the city viewed from a distance appears as if situated in a thick forest. About seven 
miles to the north-west at Yuen f?iing Yuen is the Emperor’s summer palace, occupying 
about twelve square miles of beautiful country. The land in this direction rises into 
gentle hills, and has been made to present a great variety of hill and dale, woodland 
and lawns, interspersed with pools, lakes, caverns, and islets joined by bridges and walks. 
Some parts are tilled, and groves or tangled thickets occur here and there, and places are 
purposely left wild to contrast the better with the cultivated precincts of a place, or form 
a rural pathway to a retired temple or arbor. 


r 




























































































































































































































































































































310 


Cities of the World. 


At the foot of the White Cloud hills, on the north bank of the Pearl river is Canton, 
in wealth the first city in China. The part of Canton inclosed by walls is about six 
miles in circumference ; having a partition wall running east and west, which divides it 
into two unequal parts. The entire circuit, including the suburbs, is nearly ten miles. 
The population on land and water is said to be over a million and a half. There are at 
least as many houses without the walls as within them, besides the boats. The city is 
constantly increasing ; many new streets in the western suburbs have been entirely built 
up within the last ten years. The houses stretch along the river from opposite the Fa tU 
or flower grounds, to French Folly, a distance of four miles, and the banks are every¬ 
where nearly hidden by the boats and rafts. The foundations of the city walls are of 
sandstone, their upper part of brick ; they are about twenty feet thick, and twenty-five to 
forty feet high, having an esplanade on the inside, and pathways leading to the rampart, 
on three sides. The houses are built near the wall on both sides of it, so that except on 
the north, one hardly sees it when walking around the city. There are twelve outer 
gates, four in the partition wall, and two water gates, through which boats pass into the 
moat from east to west. A ditch once encompassed the walls, now dry on the northern 
side ; on the other three, and within the city, it and most of the canals are filled by the 
tide, which, as it runs out does much to cleanse the city. The gates are all shut at night, 
and a guard is stationed near them to keep order, but sometimes the idle soldiers cause 
considerable disturbance. From the hill on the north, the city is a tame sight of red¬ 
dish roofs often hidden by frames for drying or dyeing, or shaded and relieved by a few 
orange trees, and interspersed with high, red poles for flag-staffs. Far above the watch- 
towers on the walls, the five storied tower on the Kwanyin shan near the northern gate, and 
the two prominent pagodas, shoot up above the level of the roofs. Amid all this shines 
the river, covered with boats of different colors and sizes, some stationary, others mov¬ 
ing, and all resounding with the mingled hum of laborers, sailors, musicians, hucksters, 
children, and boatwomen, pursuing their work or pleasures. On a low sandstone ledge, 
in the channel, off the city, once stood the Sea Pearl Fort, called Dutch Folly by 
foreigners. Beyond, on its southern shore, lie the suburb and island of Honam, and 
green fields and low hills are seen still further in the distance ; at the western angle of 
this island the Pearl River divides, at the Macao Passage, the largest body of water 
flowing south and leaving a comparatively narrow channel before the city. The hills on 
the north rise twelve hundred feet, their sides for miles being covered with graves and 
tombs. The streets of this vast city are more than six hundred, with some of the 
strangest of names, as Dragon street. Martial Dragon street. Golden Flower street. New 
Green Pea street, Physic street, and many more equally odd. They are not dirty, as 
those of some other cities in the empire, although they can not be compared to modern 
cities of the West. Along the water side, wherever the river rises into the city, the 
houses are built upon piles. There are many temples and many public build- 


Canton. 


3ir 

ings in Canton. The temples throughout all China are generally cheerless and gloomy 
abodes. The entrance courts are usually occupied by hucksters, and beggars, and idlers, 
who are occasionally driven off to give room for the mat-sheds in which theatrical 
performances got up by priests are given. The principal hall, where the idol sits 
enshrined, is lighted oddly in front, and the altar, drums, bells, and other furniture of the 
temple do not enliven it much ; “ the cells and cloisters are inhabited by men almost as 
senseless as the idols they serve, miserable beings, whose droning, useless life is too often 
only a cloak for vice, indolence, and crime,” which make the Chinese priests, as a class, 
despised by their countrymen. Canton is the most influential city in Southern China,. 



CHINESE MODES OF TORTURE. 

and throughout the empire it has a reputation for riches and luxury, from the fact 
that for two hundred years, up to 1843, it engrossed all the foreign trade of the country. 
A series of troubles and some bad fires greatly distressed the city after that, but it has 
recovered largely and is in a flourishing condition now. The trades and manufac¬ 
tories are mainly connected with the foreign commerce. Many silk fabrics for the 
Canton market are woven at Falshan, a large town on the west of the city ; fire-crackers, 
paper, mat-sails, cotton cloth, and other articles are also made there for exportation. 
There are, including embroiderers, about fifty thousand people in Canton engaged in 


















I 


312 Cities of the World. 

weaving cloth, while seven thousand as barbers, and four thousand two hundred as shoe¬ 
makers are stated as the number licensed to shave the crowns and shoe the soles of their 
fellow citizens. 

The recreation grounds of the Cantonese are on the opposite side of the river, 
among the fields of the suburb of Honamy, or in the cool grounds of the great temple. 
The flower gardens, where pleasure parties go, are a couple of miles up the river. 

The chief sights of the city are said to be the peak of Yenhsin, just within the walls 
on the north of the city, the Lyre Pagoda at Whampoa, and the Eastern Sea Fish-pearl, 
the ledge where Dutch Folly stood ; the pavilion of the Five Genii, with the five stone 
rams, and near by, the print of a man’s foot in the rock, always filled with water, the natives 
tell you ; the rocks of Yu-shan ; the lucky wells of Fankin in the western suburbs ; and 
a famous red building in the city. But to a stranger the ordinary sights of this vast 
metropolis are the most interesting ; they are the narrow streets, houses and shops 
huddled together, the numerous temples and assembly halls, people, and the gardens, tea 
houses and pools that are open to the public and always thronged with people. 

The gayest and the best built cities of the empire are in the province of Kiangsu, 
which lies along the sea-coast and is about the size of Pennsylvania. Here the beauties 
and riches of China are collected and displayed by nature in vast fields producing grain, 
cotton, tea, silk and rice, and watered by the Great River, the Grand Canal, many smaller 
streams and canals, and a succession of lakes along the line of the canal. From here 
come the most perfect of Chinese manufactures ; so that any thing of extra fine workman¬ 
ship is attributed to the capital, Nanking, which is called by the natives Kiangning fu. 
It was once the metropolis of the Ming dynasty, and is now compared to Rome in its 
partially deserted condition, with so many melancholy remains of departed glory stand¬ 
ing round. Both of these, however, have no brighter prospects for the future. Not far 
from the walls there are several ancient guardian statues of warriors cased in armor, 
which form an avenue leading to the sepulcher where the Emperor Hung wu was buried 
about 1398. Some distance further are a number of rude colossal figures of horses, ele¬ 
phants, and other animals, all intended to represent the guardians of the dead. Nanking 
is most celebrated abroad for the great Porcelain Tower which stood here until about 
thirty years ago, when the Tai-pings blew it up from a superstition that it would work 
against their cause. The manufactures of the city are extensive in fine satin and crape. 
Nankeen cotton cloth, paper, so-called India ink, and beautiful artificial flowers and 
pith paper. It is renowned, too, as an official center, for its scholars and literary char¬ 
acters, and stands among the first places of learning in the country, with large libraries 
and book-stores. 

In Suchan Kiangsu has a still larger and a richer city than Nanking. It is situ¬ 
ated on islands lying in the Ta hu, and from this sheet of water many streams and canals 
connect the city with most parts of the province. The walls are about ten miles in cir- 


r 



TEMPLE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED GODS IN CANTON 


































































































































































































































































































































































































































3H 


Cities of the World. 


cumference ; outside of them are four suburbs, one of which is said to extend ten miles., 
beside which there is an immense floating population—probably about a million in all. 
The whole space includes many canals and pools connected with the Grand Canal and 
the lake, through highly cultivated surroundings. The Chinese regard this as one ol 
their richest and most beautiful cities, and have a saying “ that to be happy on earth, one 
must be born in Suchan, live in Canton, and die in Lianchau, for in the first are the 
handsomest people, in the second the most costly luxuries, and in the third the best cof¬ 
fins.” The high buildings, the elegant tombs, the picturesque scenery of waters and 
gardens, the politeness and intelligence of the people, and the beauty of the women of 
Suchan give it a high reputation. Its manufactures of silk, linen, cotton, and works in 
iron, ivory, wood, horn, glass, lacquered-ware, paper, and other articles, are the chief 
sources of its wealth and prosperity ; the kinds of silk goods produced here are more 
rich and in greater variety than those woven in any other place. Vessels come up to the 
city by several channels from the Yangtze-kiang, but junks of large burden anchor at 
Shanghai. The whole country is so cut up by natural and artificial water-courses that 
the people have hardly any need of roads and carts, but get about in barrows and sedans. 
Small steamers find their way to every large village at high tide. 

South-east of Suchan, leading through a continual range of villages and cities is. 
Shanghai, whose name means“approaching the sea.” It is one of the leading commercial 
cities of Asia. It is on the north shore of the Wasung River, about fourteen miles from 
its mouth, with communications to many of the large cities on the Grand Canal of China. 
Like nearly all the cities of the empire, it is surrounded by walls and ditches and entered 
by lofty gates. The population is about five hundred thousand. It is a dirty place, and 
poorly built. The houses are mostly made of bluish square brick, and the streets, which 
are paved with stone slabs, are only about eight feet wide, and, in the daytime, crowded 
with people. Silk and embroidery, cotton and cotton goods, porcelain, ready-made 
clothes, beautiful skins and furs, bamboo pipes of every size, bamboo ornaments, pic¬ 
tures, bronzes, specimens of old porcelain, and other curiosities, highly valued by the 
Chinese, are gathered in the Shanghai shops in great quantities. The most extensive 
trade, however, is carried on in articles of food. It is sometimes difficult to get through 
the streets from the immense quantities of fish, pork, fruit, and vegetables which crowd 
the stands in front of the shops. Dining rooms, tea houses, bakers’ shops, are seen at 
every step, from the poor man who carries around his kitchen or bake-house, altogether 
hardly worth a dollar, to the most extensive tavern or tea-house crow'ded with customers. 
For a few cash, a Chinese can dine upon rice, fish, vegetables and tea, his table in the 
street or on the ground, in a house or on a deck. Large warehouses for storing goods, 
granaries and temples are common in Shanghai, but neither these nor the public build¬ 
ings are either striking in themselves or peculiar to this city alone. The contrast 
between the narrow, noisome, and reeking parts of the native city, and the clean, spacious. 


Tientsin. 


315 


well-shaded and well-paved streets and large houses of the foreign residents, is like that 
seen in India. 

One of the greatest ports of China is Tientsin. This is a large and important city 
and river port, situated eighty miles south-east of Pekin. It is one of the most important 
places in the empire, and is the key of the capital, although Lung Chan is really its 


THE GREAT WALL IN CHINA. 

port. Only the central part of Tientsin is well built with peculiar and regular houses, 
while the larger portion of the city consists of narrow, unpaved streets with houses of mud 
or dried bricks. But it is a bustling place, where junks crowd the shores in great numbers 
that can not be counted, and contains a very important part of the half million or more 
of people which make up the population. 


























3i6 


Cities of the World. 



The city of Si-ngan is the capital of north-west China, and is said to stand next tc 
Pekin in size, population, and importance. It is of great historical interest, and during 
many centuries of activity has upheld its ancient name of the city of Continuous Peace. 
The population—somewhere near a million—occujhes the entire space within its imposing 
walls ; a mingled company of Tibetans, Mongols and Tartars, many of whom are Mos¬ 
lems. The city has been taken and retaken, rebuilt and destroyed, since its establish¬ 
ment in the twelfth century B. C. by the martial king, but it has always held some con¬ 
trol of the trade between the central and western provinces and Western Asia. Some 
miles to the north-west lies the temple of Ta-fu-sz’, containing thedargest statue of 
^uddha in China. It stands in a cave hewn out of the sandstone rock ; its height is 
fifty-six feet, the figure and garments richly covered with color and gilt. 

The “ Happy City ”of the Chi¬ 
nese, which we call Fu-Chow-Foo, or 
Fuchan,isone of the most beauti¬ 
fully situated in the empire. It lies 
in a plain, surrounded by hills form¬ 
ing a natural and most magnificent 
amphitheater, as fertile as it is beau¬ 
tiful. Suburbs extend from the walls 
three miles to the banks of the Min, 
and stretch along on both sides of 
the stream. They are connected with 
each other, and a small islet in the 
river, by a stone bridge built in the 
eleventh century. The scenery is 
bold, with pines covering the sur¬ 
rounding hills not occupied by graves 
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE. or by Cultivated fields. Some of 

the hills north of the city are three thousand feet high. Opposite Fuchan the land is 
lower and the suburb is built upon an island formed by the division of the main channel 
seven miles above the city ; the branches reunite at Pagoda Island. The river is crowd¬ 
ed with floating dw'ellings, ferry-boats, and trading craft. The river is always a lively 
place, and is gay and picturesque, too, from the flowers growing in pots on the boats, and 
worn by the boat-women in their hair. The city is divided into wards and neighbor¬ 
hoods, each of which is under its own police and head men, who are responsible each for 
their own districts. One of the best views of Fuchan is from a height on the southj 
whence the square battlements of the wall are seen extending in a winding and irregular 
circuit for more than eight miles, and inclosing most of the buildings, except on the south. 
On the south-east, a steep hill partly built up with dwellings, and another on the 


Fuchan. 


317 


extreme north is surmounted by a watch-tower. Two pagodas within, and fantastic 
looking watch-towers upon the walls, look-out houses standing upon the roofs of 
buildings, or over the street, large, regular built granaries, and a vast number of flag- 
staffs in pairs indicating temples and offices, rise out of the level of the ordinary roofs 
partly hidden by large trees. Everywhere the city is equally well-built, with few vacant 
spaces, the margin of West Lake lined with temples and other buildings ; a bridge 
crossing its expanse, and fishing nets and boats floating upon its bosom. 

About eight thousand Manchus—one of the great races of the empire, and perhaps 
the finest people in the entire population of Asia—occupy the eastern side of the city. 
The hill of the Nine Genii on the southern part of town is a very attractive place, to 
citizens and to strangers. The city wall runs over it, and on its sides little houses are 
built upon rocky steps ; numerous inscrip¬ 
tions are carved on the face of the rocks. 

Near the eastern entrance, called the Bath 
Gate, is a small suburb, where Chinese and 
Manchus live together, and take care of 
many wells filled from springs near by ; 
people come here in large crowds to wash 
and amuse themselves. The citizens of 
Fuchan are a well educated, reserved, 
proud, rather turbulent people, unlike the 
polite, affable natives further north. 

Many culprits wearing the cangue—or 
Chinese form of punishment—are to be 
seen in the streets, and in passing you do 
not hear the sounds of merriment com¬ 
mon to other towns. There is also a gen- Chinese woman s shoe and model of a 
eral lack of courtesy between acquaint- foot. 

ances meeting in the highway, which is very unusual in China. The beggars 
that crowd the thoroughfares seem to touch the feelings of the people as little 
as the other and more serious abominations, allowed in the streets of almost every 
quarter. The streets of Fuchan, after the fashion of Chinese towns, are usually thronged 
with craftsmen, hucksters and shopmen, who seem to feel that the more they get in their 
customers way, the more likely they are to sell them something. The shops are thrown 
open so widely and show such a variety of articles, or expose the workmen so plainly, 
that the whole street seems to be rather the stalls of a market, or the aisle in a manu¬ 
factory, than the town-thoroughfare. There are few important manufactures here ; most 
of the business, as well as the supplies of the city, coming from the interior by way of the 
River Min. One half of the men of Fuchan are said to be opium-smokers ; and mill- 








318 Cities of the / / hr Id. 

ions of dollars are spent here every year for the drug. The population of tlie city and 

suburbs is reckoned at over 
a million souls, including 
the boat people ; it is one of 
the chief cities in the Em¬ 
pire in size, trade and influ¬ 
ence. The island in the 
river is settled by trading 
people, most of whom are 
sailors and boatmen. The 
country women, who bring 
vegetables and poultry to 
market, are robust and 
strong, a great contrast to 
the sickly-looking, little¬ 
footed ladies of the city. 
Fishing-boats are numerous in the river and many of them are furnished with cormorants. 





CHINESE CHILDREN. 


CORMORANT FISHING 

























































JAPAN. 

T he island empire lying off the north-eastern coast of Asia is known to us as Japan, 
to the people themselves as “Great Nippon.” It is composed mainly of four 
good sized islands lying like a crescent, separated from the continent by the Japan Sea. 
Yezo, the northern island, is thinly inhabited, but the main island, Hondo, or Niphon, 
as it is known to us, and the other more southerly ones are well peopled. Besides the 
four main islands there are about four thousand others of all sizes, some large, with 



several towns, others mere specks of rocks. The entire area of the empire is about 
equal to that of the New England and Middle States ; the population is larger than 
that of Great Britain, and somewhat under that of France. This sea-girt empire has 
altogether between sixty and seventy cities, fifty of which are somewhat smaller than 
Portland, Maine, six have about as many people as Troy, New York, and another six 
are rated as nearly twice the size of Richmond; Virginia. Besides these there are 
three great cities, the chief of which is Tokio, once called Yedo. The Gulf of Yedo 
is a large and sheltered arm of the sea, in about the center of the eastern coast of 
Niphon, and at its head lies the city ; but the bay is shallow here, so large vessels stop 














320 


Cities of the World. 



eighteen miles below at Yokohama, on the western shore of the Gulf. This is a new 
and American-looking town, which was only a fishing village when Commodore Perry 
anchored his fleet in the Mississippi Bay, not far away, while he negotiated with the 
government for the treaty with the United States, which undid the gates of the 


TATTOOED JAPANESE. WOMAN AND CHILD. 

forbidding empire to all the civilized nations of the world. A railroad runs directly 
from Yokohama to the capital, and takes you there in an hour. After London, Tokio 
is the most extensive city in the world ; but in population is about the size of Berlin 
and Vienna. It stands on a great plain which is one of the most fertile in Japan. 
The surrounding country, which is tilled with great care and skill, yields handsomely ; 











STREET SCENE IN T^>R1<^ ON NEW VEAR’s DAY 









































































































































































































































322 


Cities of the World. 

it is abundantly watered by several large streams, while smaller ones intersect it in every 
direction, forming many rich and lovely valleys. 

The Great River, or Ogawa, divides the city into an eastern and western portion, 
which is united by half a dozen broad bridges. The western part is the largest and 
most important. After the same fashion as the Chinese cities Tokio is built in three 
sections, one within another. The innermost is the citadel, in which the palace of the 
Shoguns used to stand. Many times the palace was burned and rebuilt, but since it was 
destroyed in 1872 the great beautiful parks surrounding the spot have been kept in 
good order, but so far the palace itself is wanting ; but the wall inclosing the grounds 
still preserve this—the highest point in the capital—as a citadel. There are great 
stones in this rampart which were brought two hundred miles. Outside the citadel, is 
0 -shiro, and engirdling it, is Sofo-shiro, a part of the city made up of palaces, 
temples, universities, and schools for arts and trades, for Tokio has many excellent 
institutions for young men who would study law, engineering, medicine, and chemistry. 

Since Japan has opened her doors to the world there has been in every part of 
the country a great deal of interest taken in education ; many more schools have 
been opened ; scientific, industrial and other institutes, such as there are in Europe 
and in our own country, have been founded. The center for all this educational interest 
is at the capital ; the Imperial University has more than a hundred foreign professors. 
There is a fine naval college here, too, and the main body of the new imperial army 
is located and drilled here. The famous Bridge of Japan is in this part of the city. 
It is considered the center of the empire and all geographical distances are reckoned 
from this. Through the eastern part of Soto-shiro runs the great highroad of Japan, 
the Tokaido. Beyond, surrounding both the others, lies the outer section, the general 
city. Here is the temple of K’wanon, which is the most venerated of any in Japan, and 
that of Kanda-Niyojin, the guardian deity of the city. The old temple of Confucius is 
now a public library, stocked with Japanese, Chinese, and European books. The 
foreign quarter is part of the old district of Yedo, called Filled-up Land ; it faces 
the river and is surrounded on all sides by canals. It is well paved, cleaned and 
lighted ; but all Tokio is modernized now, and as many parts of the city are more 
favorable for dwellings than this, the foreign officials at the consulates, missionaries, 
and a few merchants are the only persons who live here. 

The streets in this quarter and leading from it are lined with open houses and 
shops, showing the doings of the family as freely as those of the workman. You can 
see the mechanics at work as you pass along. They are all down on the floor. There 
is a blacksmith pulling the bellows with his foot while he is holding and hammering 
with both hands. He keeps his dinner pot boiling with what flame there is to spare 
from keeping his many irons hot. Here are shops full of ivory carvings, some of them 
most delicate and beautiful works of art, and nearly all put to one use, the 7iitsukis. 


JoktG. 


323 



This is a large button, made with two holes through which runs a silken cord that holds 
a gentleman’s pipe and pouch in his girdle ; for no Japanese is without his smoking 
apparatus, made up of a tiny-bowled, brass-tipped bamboo pipe in its case, one bag 
containing flint, tinder and steel, and another to hold his tobacco. The branches of 
trade keep together in different streets. In one there are quantities of bureaus and 
cabinets ; in another, folding screens, or dyer’s shops. One street has a forest of 
bamboo poles for sale. The main street of the capital is the Tori; it is much wider 
than Broadway in New York, which measures about seventy-five feet across. The shops 
here are gayer, the goods 
are richer, and the crowds 
are more dense than any 
where else in the city; but, 
according to our ideas, there 
is not one really handsome 
looking store the whole 
length of it. The crowds 
are mainly of copper colored 
natives, but they have a fa¬ 
miliar appearance, for most 
of the men dress in the Eu¬ 
ropean fashion, showing 
more clothes and less skin 
than used to be the native 
custom. Thousands wear 
hats, coats, trowsers, and 
carry watches. Carriages are 
numerous, but in and out 
among the throng the jin- traveling in tokio. 

riki-s/ias are almost as plentiful as ever. These “ man-power carriages ” are cur¬ 
ious little cabs on two wheels, like an overgrown baby carriage with shafts, and 
drawn by Japanese men of the lower classes. When you wish to go very 
fast you hire two men, one to push ; and sometimes three are employed and run tandem 
with the jaunty little car. Sometimes these sha are made in the shape of a boat, and 
many of them very finely ornamented. There is an air of bustle and energy here and 
all through the city now that was wanting a while ago. The modernization of the 
Mikado’s capital has banished beggars, guard-houses, and the sentinels that used to 
keep watch at the black gates in the high fences which inclosed the foreign quarter. 
Foreigners are safe nowadays, and a uniformed police are ready to preserve the peace 
among all alike. One of the peculiar kind of Japanese buildings is the yashiki, which 













324 Cities of the World. 

means the “spread out house,” and is a sort of feudal castle. It is usually in the form 
of a hollow square, inclosing from ten thousand to one hundred and sixty thousand 
square feet of ground. On the street front it looks like a continuous house on stone 
foundations, with rows of wooden barred or grated windows. The four sides of the 
square within are made up of four rows of houses, usually extending in four unbroken 
lines. In the center are the mansions of the dahnio^ or military prince, and his 


ministers. The retainers of lower rank occupy the long houses which form the sides of 
the square. The remainder of the space within the inclosure is used for pleasure and 
produce gardens, recreation grounds, tarket walks, and fire-proof houses. All the 
largest yashikis have three divisions, the superior, middle, and inferior. In the third the 
servants and least important followers live ; in the second the ordinary clansmen are 
housed, while the lord of the clan dwells in the central building. This is approached 


THE STREET BALLAD-SINGER. 






















Tokio. 


325 


from the great gate by a wide stone path and grand wood portico. Long, wide 
corridors, laid with soft mats, lead to the master’s chamber. The wood work in 
natural colors is interspersed with black, lacquer-like enamel. The walls are gorgeously 
papered with gold, silver, or the fanciful designs and brilliant colors peculiar to 
Japanese art. The sliding doors or partitions of which three sides of a Japanese room 
is composed are sometimes decorated in beautiful painting of the bamboo and lily, the 
stork, tortoise, marvelous fans and other favorite studies. These buildings were the 



DOMESTIC ALTAR OF THE GODS OF HAPPINESS. 

glory of old Yedo, but the almost nightly fires have swept many of them away, and they 
are not rebuilt, for under the new government they are not needed ; feudalism forms no 
part of the present empire of Japan. The chief importance of Tokio is as the 
national capital; but there is considerable export trade passing through it to Yokohama. 
The whole business part is studded with clay fire-proof store houses, not only for mer¬ 
chandise, but to receive all the valuables in the neighborhood as soon as a fire breaks 
out. As soon as the building is filled the massive iron doors and shutters of these 
dova are cemented air-tight and preserve their contents while all the light buildings 
round about are swiftly swept away. For many years the houses burned down have 































326 Cities of the World. 

always been replaced by the same style of light, inflammable structures ; but solid brick 
and stone houses are now taking their places. 

Ozaka, the second city of Japan, is but about one-quarter the size of Tokio, having 
a population of about three hundred thousand. It is situated on a large river some 
twenty miles from the south-east coast of the main land, in the most central and 
thickly settled part of the empire. It is a very important trading place, chiefly because 
it is in the midst of the great tea districts. It is clean and regularly built, with hundreds of 
wooden iron bridges spanning streams that thread their way through the city in every 



A DOMESTIC SCENE. 


direction. These waterways are some of the busiest thoroughfares of Ozaka; house¬ 
boats fitted up comfortably for passengers, and all sort of freight-craft, glide back and 
forth past the wooden houses, in much the same numbers and interesting variety as 
others of a far different build float over the palace lined water streets of Venice. This, like 
all places in Japan, has many temples to Buddha and other deities, and two Christian 
churches. Some of the public buildings are imposing structures, especially the municipal 
hall, and the extensive Roman-looking mint, where a large part of the coin in Japan is 
cut. It is a thrifty and a gay city with plenty of theaters, singing-girls and other popu¬ 
lar amusements. The ladies here are even more tasteful and fashionable than those in 
\ the capital; perhaps it is because they are more beautiful. The ancient capital and the 























Kioto. 


327 


residence of the emperor, when he was only the mikado, or spiritual ruler, was at Kioto, 
which is also called Miako, and Sal-Kiyo. It is now the third of the great cities of the 
country, with about the same number of people as Ozaka. This was the chief center of 
the national religion, at the time of the double rule in Japan, and has still some vast 
and splendid temples. The houses are mostly of the better class, and the streets that 
cross each other at right angles, are broad and clean. When the great revolution broke 
out in 1868, and the shogun, or temporal ruler, was deposed, the mikado was given com¬ 
plete authority over the affairs of the empire. He then removed his court to Yedo, 
which became Tokio. This took away many of the wealthy people of the city ; but it 
is still the seat of a large interior trade and is a very flourishing place, famous for the 
manufacture and dyeing of silks. It is also the center of Japanese literature and art. 



JAPANESE CANDLESTICKS AND CENSERS. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 


HE largest and most important city in South America is Rio de Janeiro, the 



1 . capital of the Brazilian empire. It stands on a magnificent harbor just above 
the tropic of Capricorn on the eastern coast of the continent. It is land-locked, entered 
on the south by a mile-wide passage, and often described as the most beautiful, secure 
and spacious in the world. It extends seventeen miles inland, and in the widest place 
measures twelve miles across ; although its entrance is guarded by mountains and many 
islands are scattered through the bay, its waters are so free from danger that pilots are 
not needed to take ships in and out. There are fifty square miles of anchorage within 
the harbor, not a tenth part of which is now used. The bay is girded with mountains 
and lofty hills of every variety of picturesque and fantastic outline, and across tlie blue 
waters lies the city, old and new, along the western shore ; the white-walled and vermil¬ 
ion-roofed houses climbing the seven green and mound-like hills, or clustering in the 
valleys between. Convents or churches stand on the summits of some of the hills within 
the city limits, and streets, sometimes only scatteringly lined with houses, climb ])art of 
the way up others. The city is a great sprawling, shapeless place ; and while the main 
business part near the bay is compactly laid out in regular squares of narrow paved and 
flagged streets of granite houses, roofed with tile, beyond that there are spider-like 
reaches extending up and down the shore and backward to the mountains. One of the 
most beautiful of these outer districts is Botafogo, with its well built aristocratic houses 
and its crowning glory of stately tropical gardens, with avenues of royal palms, gorgeous 
flowering shrubs and dense, dark foliaged trees. Beyond this is the Botanic Garden, a 
most beautiful spot laid out in shady walks, groves of tropical trees, green lawns and a 
noble avenue of royal palms, a hundred feet high. During the fine afternoons hundreds 
of people come here from the city for a few hours’ pleasure, part of which is the ride out 
in the open horse-cars—mule cars more properly speaking. The route between the 
Gardens and the center of the city is through a succession of lovely scenes, for the 
environs of Rio abound in picturesque valleys and hillsides, pierced by beautiful roads 
and by-paths. The most fashionable street in the Brazilian capital is the R^ta do Ouvi- 
dor. It is only a narrow alley too ; but here are the best retail shops with brilliant and 
tastefully arranged windows, coffee rooms opening on the street, and some poor pic¬ 
ture galleries. It is always lively and pleasant here, and in the evening it is extremely gay 
with crowds of handsomely dressed Brazilian gentry. During carnival-time and when 
festivals are held, it is thronged with people, filling sidewalks and roadway alike, while 


Rio de Janeiro. 


329 


arches of gas jets over head, light it up like a great hall or pavilion. The new town is 
west of the old, and separated from it by the Campo de Santa Anna, an immense square 
or park, on different parts of which stands an extensive barrack, the town hall, the 
national museum, the palace of the senate, the foreign office, a large opera house, and 
other buildings for public or government uses. The population of Rio is about three 
hundred thousand, that is, somewhat larger than Cincinnati, Ohio. There is a compara¬ 
tively small number of really good people in the capital. The largest class have many 
vices and most of them are too poor to be idle and too proud to work ; they feel that 
there is a broad gulf between them and the working folks, as there is between the free 
laborers and the fourth and lowest class, the slaves. One of the main business streets is 
the Rua Primeiro de Marco, running parallel to the water front, about the only wide and 
pleasant thoroughfare in the old part of the town, where stand row after row of tall 
plain warehouses and offices, among the buildings of the new post-office, the Agricul¬ 
tural Hall and a few notable churches. It is thronged with a crowd of people taking life 
so leisurely, that a bustling, newly landed New Yorker could scarcely believe it to be the 
center of wholesale trade, filled with the principal banking and comrrassion houses of the 
largest city in South America. The commission and importing business in the great 
counting houses here is largely carried on by English and German firms ; there are some 
Brazilian and a few French and American houses. 

Only a few carts and carriages are seen ; most of the lighter carting is done on the 
heads of negro, porters, while the heavy burdens, like bags of coffee or grain, are carried 
through the streets on platform cars drawn on tracks by mules. At the street corners 
there are groups of laborers gathered round a kiosque —a gayly-painted pagoda-like build¬ 
ing—wherein they get their coffee and lunch, and find plenty of tables to sit at and talk. 
Lottery tickets are sold in the kiosques too, and the chances of success with the tickets 
displayed make up a large part of the conversation. This is the great curse of Brazil. 
By the water side, not far from the banking streets, is the large, square building of the 
market. In one small square on the land side there is a gathering of noisy fruit women, 
and on the bay side, where immense docks or basins are walled in, nearly all the market- 
boatmen of Rio unload their cargoes of fish and vegetables ; a strange, dense, and busy 
crowd they make in the mornings, these black-bearded Portuguese nmlattoes, on the 
wharves and in their broad, heavy flat-bottomed boats. The main part of the market is 
built much like those of New York, with stalls and passages. Besides these there is a 
court, with hucksters walking through, and stalls on either side, and stands covered with 
fish or tropical fruits and vegetables in the middle, attended by turbaned negro women, 
sitting under huge white umbrellas. The market is the center of the huckster life of Rio, 
which spreads through all its streets, and forms a marked characteristic of the city. Be¬ 
sides the market men there are traveling cloth merchants, rapping their jointed yard¬ 
sticks, candy-boys, newsboys, cake-women, tinkers, who beat on one of their pans with 


330 


Cities of the World. 


an iron rod as they pass along, and followers of almost every calling, for the Braziliaa 
women do not like to go out shopping or marketing. The great warehouses and docks 
lie in the northern part of the city, where the streets are narrow and not always over¬ 
clean. Here during the sickly season the yellow fever rages cruelly. It begins gener¬ 
ally with the boatmen in January, and, little by little, spreads over the whole city as the 
warm and oppressive weather of March and April comes on. But from June or July 
until January Brazil is usually quite free from the scourge ; and when the draining and 
proper cleaning are enforced all the danger may be done away with. The old buildings, 
some of which have stood for two centuries, in these narrow, dirty streets, make them 
very interesting. The Portuguese colonists built solidly of stone and cement, and so 
their tile roofs, and the stout walls, covered with black mold now instead of whitewash, 
are as good as ever. Somber and venerable, they look down nowadays on horse-cars and 
crowds of people bearing no trace in dress or in manners of the old colonial days ; but 
even they are adapted to nineteenth century uses, for the ground floors of some of the 
most stately of them make very good coffee-packing establishments. Further on there 
are the new Pedro Segundo docks, where all except very heavy draught ships take in 
cargo from the wharfs. Like nearly all the public works in Brazil, these are handsomely 
ornamented, and are very popular with shippers. The trade and commerce of Rio are 
great now, and are increasing year by year. The chief export is coffee ; after that come 
gold, diamonds, tobacco, hides, cotton, timber and other things far exceeding the value 
of imports, which are mainly silk, linen, cotton, and woolen goods. European steam¬ 
ships arrive and leave almost daily, while the commerce with other foreign and do¬ 
mestic ports is also extensive. In all the many squares of the modern part of the 
capital there are fine fountains of pure water, brought by a splendid aqueduct from 
the springs on and around Mount Corcovado. For two or three miles, where this 
aqueduct runs along the mountain side, the government has built a carriage-road, 
which is shady, quiet, and beautiful, a favorite strolling place. Here and there 
are glimpses of the bay and the city below. The peak of Corcovado is two points with 
a bridge between them and low parapet walls from which there is a view worth all the 
work of climbing up. The city and bay lie on one side of the forest-covered base of the 
mountain ; on the other, the Botanic Garden, with the picturesque Rodrigo de Freitas 
lake before it ; in front is the pretty suburb of Botafogo, built along the shores of one of 
the side bays opening into the harbor, and beyond is the towering cone of Sugarloaf, its 
twelve hundred feet of rock standing like a sentinel at the mouth of the bay, a view that 
the most unenthusiastic travelers have declared to have but two rivals in the world, 
Constantinople and San Francisco. 

According to size, the second capital in South America is Buenos Ayres, of the 
Argentine Republic. It stands on La Plata river, which even here, a hundred and fifty 
■••'.iles from the sea, is thirty-six miles across. The city is divided by granite paved 


Lima. 


331 


streets into great blocks, about a hundred and fifty yards square. Horse-car lines run 
in every direction. The principal buildings are the cathedral and churches belonging to 
it, some Protestant churches, benevolent institutions, a military college and university. 
The importance of Buenos Ayres comes mainly from a very extensive inland trade^ 
especially with Chili. It is unfortunately situated, with a harbor exposed to bad tides 
and winds, and in a country wanting timber and stones. Its largest industries are cigar 
making, carpet weaving, and the manufacture of furniture and boots and shoes. The 
exports and imports are much the same as those of Rio ; it has also about the same 
number of people as the Brazilian capital, fully one-third of them being Europeans, 
principally Spanish, Italian, French, and British. 

The Chilian capital is Santiago^ a squarely laid out city with about a hundred and 
seventy-five thousand people. The city stands on a broad plain at the western base of 
the Andes, eighteen hundred feet above the sea. Its climate is delightful, and its sur¬ 
roundings beautiful and productive. Toward the mountains the scenery is most magnifi¬ 
cent, and round about are broad acres covered with growing vines, figs and melons. 
The houses, until recently, were always built low around a court or garden, in the best 
way possible to protect the inhabitants from the constantly recurring earthquakes ; but 
some of the newer buildings are costly edifices, two, three, and four stories high, with 
beautiful facades overlooking the streets. Among the handsomest buildings are the 
mint ; part of this is one of the President’s palaces, while other apartments are devoted 
to public offices. The Cathedral stands on one side of the Great Square, and at some 
distance away are the university, library and museum, and several very fine schools. 
The life of the capital is best seen on the Alameda, a promenade shaded with poplars, 
and cooled by two streams of running water. Santiago is the export market for the 
mineral wealth of Chili, and receives in exchange for its gold, silver and lead, manufac¬ 
tured goods, wines and spirits for the most part. Its chief trade is with Valparaiso, 
which is ninety miles away by the way of the Valparaiso and Santiago railway. The 
handsomest city of South America is Lima, capital of the Republic of Peru. One of 
the noblest thoroughfares on the continent is the Alameda, running from the capital to 
its port, Callao, which is on the Pacific coast, six miles away. At a distance, the spires 
and domes glitter in the sun, and the Moorish looking architecture is very striking and 
attractive. Most all the public buildings are magnificent; the dwellings and other 
houses are low and irregular, but give variety to the long regular streets. The principal 
business locality is the Plaza Mayor, or great square. It has a fine fountain in the 
center and is overlooked by the President’s palace, the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s 
palace, and, on the south, the old palace of Pizarro stands at right angles with the Town 
Hall. On one of the alamedas, or avenues, there is an immense amphitheater for bull 
fighting ; for Lima was founded by the Spaniards, and has many of their national traits. 
The city is shaped like a triangle, with its longest side extending along the bank of the 


332 


Cities of the World. 


river Rimac. Every morning the city streets are flooded with a stream of water, which 
is turned on to carry away what has collected the day before. Besides this cleans¬ 
ing there are quantities of buzzards that finish the scavenger work of the Peruvian 
capital, and keep it healthful and pleasant. Many of the monasteries and convents, 
which once were very numerous, have been suppressed ; but the convent of San 
Francisco is still actively devoted to the church. The University of Lima, which is 
in a rather neglected condition now, was the first great educational institution in the new 
world ; it has a valuable library, and is still attended by Peruvian and other South 
American students. The trade of the city is exporting and importing for the coast 
people, with some interior trade. The business of the capital is in a most unsettled 
condition now from the recent troubles that have shaken the whole state to its founda¬ 
tions. 


CANADA. 



A lmost all the country of America north of the United States, is the Dominion ot 
Canada, belonging to Great Britain. This is a little less in size than our own posses¬ 
sions, but contains about one-twelfth as many people. The largest city is Montreal on an 
island in the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Ottawa. It has about a hundred 
and fifty thousand people, or about as many as Louisville, Kentucky. It is finely situated, 
with its stately architecture surrounded by the gleaming river, and standing out against 


MONTREAL. 

the green of maples and elms on the Royal Mount, with the Victoria Tubular Bridge 
spanning the great distance to the further bank. Crowds of shipping lie along the heavily- 
built stone wharves. Steamers nearly six thousand tons in burden are there, and fleets of 
three masted sailing vessels. The most prominent buildings on shore are the Catholic 
Cathedral, with its two tall square towers, and a great market and customs-buildings—a 
minor Somerset House to Londoners. The Cathedral is the finest church on the 




334 Cities of the World. 

American continent. It is built in the Gothic style with six towers, the highest three being 
on the main front. It comprises seven chapels and nine aisles, and is large enough to hold 
between six and seven thousand people. There are also several other Roman Catholic 
churches belonging to the order of St. Sulpice. Montreal was founded chiefly by mem¬ 
bers of this order, who still hold possession of the island. Adjoining the Cathedral is 
the seminary of St. Sulpice, and several of the largest convents in the world are seen in 



SECTION OF THE VICTORIA BRIDGE. 

various parts of the city. The Catholic church has long owned a great deal of the 
property here, which has increased in value so vastly that through it the church has 
become enormously wealthy. The new Church of England Cathedral and the Scotch 
church of St. Andrew are also fine structures, but comparatively small. As almost all 
the buildings are of gray limestone the streets have a substantial and stately appearance, 
which, combined with the green of the trees, make the city very attractive. Near the 
waterside the thoroughfares are filled with busy crowds of active, energetic Canadians, 






























Montreal. 


335 



continually moving in one direction or another. Almost all the business seems to be 
transacted in this quarter. Here lie vessels from almost every great foreign port, from 
the United States and South America. Here negotiations are made and trade carried on 
extending to the large Canadian lumber districts, to the produce and manufacturing 
centers of the whole Dominion, and many places in the United States, The city is 
admirably situated as to rivers, canals and railways, and is fast becoming of great commer¬ 
cial importance. From the beginning of December to about the middle of April the 


harbor is closed by ice ; and during that time ocean steamers put in at Portland, Maine, 
and goods are shipped from there to Montreal by the Grand Trunk railway. In the 
other quarters the avenues are planted with trees ; pleasure grounds, and places of 
entertainment are seen ; and the buildings and surrounding grounds are sometimes 
handsomely adorned. The McGill University is one of the chief seats of learning in 
the country. The Museum has a collection of implements, weapons and carved pipes 
of the old North American Indians, and specimens of all that is remarkable in the 
geology of Canada. 

The great pleasure season of the year is in winter. Then every thing out of doors is 


CANADIAN AMUSEMENTS. 





336 


Cities of the World. 


covered with snow ; great tobogganing hills are set up forecasting. Sledges, snow shoes, 
and skates are brought out. The entire city puts on its holiday appearance, and thou¬ 
sands of strangers come to enjoy the sports, which reach their height with the opening 
of the Carnival. Then the great ice palace is built and all the members of the snow 
shoe clubs, clad in colored blanket coats, blue “ Turque ” caps, and moccasins, and 
other societies of the province are mustered in the capital. The stores put out their 
gayest decorations and show their richest stock; every spare room, from those of the 
great hotels to the modest little private house, is rented, while nearly all kinds of 
business foreign to the Carnival is partially or wholly suspended. In and around the 
palace the most picturesque and charming fetes are held every evening ; processions of 
torch-bearing snow shoers and militia are held ; public balls and private parties are given, 
excursions are made up, and for about one week every kind of winter enjoyment 
imaginable,—sleighing, tobogganing down steep hills at a take-your-breath-away rate of 
speed, curling, skating, and countless others—are kept up with the greatest enthusiasm. 
Then the wonderful, fairy-like palace, with towers, battlements and glittering walls, 
inclosing immense corridors and stately halls built of ice blocks and illuminated with a thou¬ 
sand lights of various colors, is stormed and captured, and after one more ball, the most 
brilliant of the season, the Carnival is over. Toronto, the second city of the Dominion, 
is the capital of Ontario. This is the large province which lies across the lakes from 
New York, and into which we go when visiting Niagara Falls. Toronto is nearly half 
the size of Montreal in population ; it lies low and flat on a spacious inlet of Lake 
Ontario called Toronto Bay. The largest vessels on the lakes can come in here past 
the fort, and, some of them, up to the quays. In summer it is a gay and beautiful sight 
when the fleet of the yacht club is out, or the cutters and schooners of Toronto and 
Hamilton have the regattas, which bring out hundreds of people to watch the contests. 
There are many fine buildings and broad handsome streets in Toronto ; it is well paved 
and lighted and carefully kept; most of the city is built up with brick ; but there are 
churches and colleges, public halls and the stately Law Courts in stone. The highest 
quarter is the Queen’s Park, on the west, reached from King street—the greatest and 
longest thoroughfare of the city—by a double avenue. The Park is prettily wooded, and 
contains some handsome private dwellings, the observatory, and the university. Toronto 
is the fountain-head of the Canadian school system, and has, beside Trinity, Knox and 
Upper Colleges, many very fine common and normal schools. The University Park, with 
its beautiful monument to the volunteers who fell at Ridgeway and the Horticultural 
garden, is a favorite resort for all the people of the city. Miss Rye’s Home for friendless 
little street children is one of the most noted places, as it is one of the grandest benevo¬ 
lent works near Toronto. 

Every year in September the great provincial fair of Ontario is held here. This is 
the best time to see the people and what they do. Every thing belonging to education and 


Quebec. 


337 


schools has one of the chief places, and there are countless exhibits of beautiful woods 
and wood-work, of books, magazines and papers, of all kinds of household articles, from 
fine soap to expensive furniture, and nearly every other product and manufacture of the 
city and the province. 

The chief fortress of Canada, and the only walled city in the American 
continent is Quebec. Although it has only about sixty thousand people, as many 
as New Haven, Connecticut, it is an important city, with railroad connection 
with all the cities in the United States. After Montreal, it has the largest com- 



QUEBEC. 


merce in the Dominion, the principal trade being in lumber, grain and ships. There are 
large ship-yards where vessels, noted for beauty and strength, are made ; and immense 
rafts of logs are always moored along the shore below the city. The harbor is fine, 
and so deep that the largest vessels can come close up to the wharves. Quebec is divided 
into two parts ; the lower town is on a plain along the shore, and has many narrow 
crooked streets lined with quaint old buildings. The upper town is on a steep promon¬ 
tory about three hundred feet from the river. It is surrounded by a wall, and there is a 
great citadel overlooking the city, which, with the other forts, has given Quebec the name 
of the Gibraltar of America. There are fine buildings and public institutions here; and 
the people, two-thirds of whom are French Canadians, enjoy one of the finest promenades 
in the world, and live in full view of some of the most picturesque scenery in the Queen’s 
possessions. The Canadian capital is Ottawa, a minor city, on the banks of a broad 
tributary to the St. Lawrence. The Houses of Parliament, with their towers and high 

























338 


Cities of the World. 


pitched roofs, are built on a cliff jutting into the stream. At the western side of the city 
the Ottawa rushes over a precipice and forms the famous Chaudiere Falls, and at the 
north-east the Rideau falls into the Ottawa in two other cataracts. A suspension bridge 
hangs over Chaudiere Falls, connecting Upper and Lower Canada. The principal trade 



STREET IN QUEBEC. 


of the capital is in immense quantities of sawed lumber, and some manufactures from 
other mills, also run by the immense water po\\«er furnished by the rivers. Rideau Hall, 
the house of the Governor-General, is at New Edinburgh, near the city. Ottawa is about 
the size of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, its population being thirty thousand. 



















MEXICO. 


T he capital of Mexico, our country’s nearest neighbor and sister republic, is 
Mexico. It is beautifully situated in the center of a great tabledand about mid¬ 
way between the Gulf and the Pacific. The plateau is surrounded by snow-capped 
mountains, and studded with five lakes, near the largest of which lies the city. The 
heart of the capital is the Grand Plaza, or Great Square, which measures about a thou¬ 
sand feet each way. It is the finest open place in America, and one of the finest in the 
world, with a pretty tropical garden in the center and noble buildings ranging in lofty 
stories on all sides. On the south is the President’s palace, an extensive pile that is 
palace, garrisoned castle, and hall of state. Here are kept the archives of the govern¬ 
ment and supplies in case of siege. The state apartments take up an immense wing, the 
Hall of Embassadors alone being large enough for a palace; it is a picture gallery too, 
lined with portraits of Mexican grandees, among which Bolivar and Washington are 
given a place as successful American revolutionists. Across the long stretch of the 
Plaza, opposite the palace, is a long arcade, wide and shaded, and full of shops of every 
description. Here are silversmiths at work or selling their famous filigree; feather-work 
shops; toys of all kinds; earthen trinkets; hat stores full of broad sombreros and rebosas, 
the brown and blue mantles, such as you see over the head and neck of every working 
woman who passes by. Here are coffee-stands and book-stalls and all sorts of trade 
and traffic, opening off of the broad walks, filled with a Mexican crowd. 

On the left of the palace, there are plain, strong-looking lines of barracks, and on 
its right, stands the Moorish-looking cathedral. It stands on a large platform several 
feet higher than the pavement of the Plaza, a grand and imposing building, which was 
raised on the ruins of the great teocalli, the old Aztec temple to the god Mixitli. The 
circular calendar stone covered with Aztec hieroglyphics, representing the months of 
the year, is preserved in the corner of the building. The inside of the cathedral is 
grand but not gloomy. It is partitioned off for different classes of people. T'he altar is a 
gorgeous piece of marble sculpture and precious stones, and some of the carving, metal 
work in the screens, and other ornamentation, set with gems, is very beautiful. The 


540 


Cities of the World. 


open space in front of the cathedral is full of people selling their wares, especially Sabbath 
mornings. Lottery ticket sellers, usually old men and women, are more numerous than 
any other venders; and among them are match-boys, ice-cream sellers, picture venders, 
and scores of others offering bargains to the passers by, or the worshipers as they go 
toward or leave the church. 

d'he streets running northward from the Plaza are the chief thoroughfares of the city. 
Each block is known by a different name. The first is called the Street of the Silver- 



CITY OF MEXICO. 

smiths; now there are some few of the craft, once very numerous here, who have their 
forge and work their silver in plain view of the passers by. But jewelry and cigar shops 
and dry goods stores have crowded out the silver workers. Further along stands a church 
and some other of the old religious buildings, now converted into every-day use. The 
fifty-year old palace of Iturbide, too, is now a hotel, the stateliest private building in 
Me.xico, it is said, with its fine carved front, facing the President’s dwelling. Further 
on is a porcelain-faced house of quaint Dutch tiles, while above and below it are the 











JMexico. 


341 


residences of the wealthy and aristocratic of the city. Beyond is the public park, 
the Alameda,—forty acres of winding paths, fenced off from plots of shrubs or flowers, 
with fountains encircled by stone seats. The eastern side of the Alameda is the street 
of San Cosme, the broadest and liveliest thoroughfare in Mexico. It has another interest, 
too, than the people. It is the road over which Cortez tried to escape on that night which 
has passed into history as the Trieste Noche, or saddest of nights. It passes by the 
aqueduct of San Cosme, that extends toward the city in solemn gray arches, moss -grown 
and majestic. Swiftly running horse cars, loaded donkeys, cavaliers, men and women 
promenading or bearing burdens make the thickest and the busiest throng in Mexico, 
beside this solemn old arcade. A mile or so out, in the vicinity of the English and 
American cemeteries, the aqueduct suddenly turns westward toward Chapultepec; not 
far from here is the favorite site for gentlemen’s villas, with most lovely surroundings. 
The country is full of parks, ponds, groves, pleasant walks, flower beds, rare trees and 
tropical plants. San Cosme also ends in the Plaza, in the heart of the city; but it 
contains one greater attaction than the busy square, in the Tivoli Gardens, which surpass 
many of the most celebrated pleasure grounds in Europe. Here in the midst of de¬ 
lightful scenery, the gentry breakfast between twelve o’clock and four. Tables are ar¬ 
ranged in the most charming and unlooked-for places: they are in quaint looking boxes 
high in the tree-tops, in sequestered arbors, in open plots; everywhere for variety or 
differing tastes. All that is good to eat or drink in the country is served here, and the 
music is delightful. One road from the Tivoli leads to the square where the burnings 
of the Inquisition took place. The Inquisition building is used for the custom-house 
now; a great fountain is in the center of the road, and a church stands across the way. 
Beside the beautiful Alameda, Mexico has remarkably long and handsome paseos, or 
raised paved roads, planted with double rows of trees, and extending far into the country 
from every quarter of the city. The water gardens, which were a celebrated attraction in 
ancient days, are not floating nowadays, although there are a few of them still kept in 
luxurious beauty in the midst of the swamps, which the modern Mexicans have allowed 
to spread around the lakes. The trade here is chiefly transit business, although there 
is a considerable quantity of manufactured goods imported, and some home manufact¬ 
ures shipped in exchange. Superior cigars are made in the capital, beside gold lace, 
hats, carriages, saddlery and some other things; these, with gold and silver and some 
of the valuable products of the plateau, are carried on mules, usually to Vera Cruz and 
other ports, for foreign shipment. 


THE UNITED STATES. 


'^T^HE metropolis of the United States and the greatest city of the Americas is New 
I York. All foreign commerce, all domestic trade, all travelers from abroad or tourists 
at home, some of all that is good, bad, or indifferent, find their way sooner or later to 
the water-bound city of the Empire State. Every railroad on the continent is connected 



THE CITY HALL. 


with it; the main canals and natural water-ways tend toward it, while the great Atlantic 
itself reaches out a strong, safe arm to the very steps of the Custom House. It has been 
said that no country in the world can boast of such a harbor, where the turbulence of 
the sea is shut out by a bar that admits the largest vessels at high tide. Its circle of 

















NKW N'ORK. HARBOR. 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































344 


Cities of the J Cor tot. 


hills encloses a basin large enough to shelter all the fleets of the world, without 
danger from shifting shoals, or strong treacherous currents; while from the Fire Island 
light or the first sight of land, the beacon lights and buoys are so numerous and distinct, 
that any accident other than one vessel colliding with another is almost unknown. The 
approach to the great city is beautiful as well as safe and commodious. The Highlands 
of Navesink, with their tall lighthouse towers, attract the visitor’s eye by day or night; 



BARGE OFFICE, BATTERY, NEW YORK CITY. 


above them the long point of Sandy Hook runs out to the north, with its lighthouse, 
a white monument by day, and a flashing light by night; opposite this is the Coney 
Island shore, leaving a broad entrance to the Lower Bay, with the quiet, shining waters 
of Raritan Bay opening upon it on the west. On a sunny day this sparkling bay on the 
left, and the long sandy stretch of Coney Island with its great pavilions and piers on the 








































New York. 


345 


right, make a very pleasant first impression. But the scene grows fairer as you cross 
the Lower Bay; now and then an island is passed, and above Raritan, the wooded hills 
of Staten Island curve out to meet the green bluffs of Long Island, forming the pretty 
strait called the Narrows. Just above the forts 
the shores retreat, and New York Bay comes full 
in view. The Staten Island heights are crowned 
with scattered villas and suburban villages; the 
green of the Long Island shore is soon broken 
by the lines of Brooklyn wharves and docks, 
which extend for miles along the whole length 
of the eastern shore of the Harbor, up the 
East River to Long Island City, several miles 
beyond. To the left the shore of Staten Island 
ends at an angle, and the broad Kill von Kull, 
connecting the Harbor with Newark Bay, beyond, 
lies between the island and a long factory-built 
and barge-lined peninsula of New Jersey. This 
runs out from Jersey City, whose southerly point 
is just opposite that of New York at the mouth 
of the Hudson River ; near the head of the 
Harbor there are several small islands, the most 
notable of these, although not the largest, being 
Bedloe’s, the site of Bartholdi’s colossal statue 
of Liberty Enlightening the World, the gift of 
the French to the American people. From Bed¬ 
loe’s Island the full harbor view of New York 
lies clear and distinct. On the blue waters ride 
ships from every large European port; sloops, 
schooners, and square rigged vessels from far 
and near; harbor barges, great excursion boats 
and Sound steamers with their pointed prows, 
double and triple tiers of decks, and immense 
side wheels; bulky, low ferry-boats, trim yachts 
with their snow-white sails and yellow masts; 
black hulled, black rigged government vessels; 
with puffing little tugs steaming about from 
one point to another, sometimes darting away like a messenger in hot haste, some¬ 
times laboriously dragging a trail of four or five heavily laden scows or train boats, or 
towing a disabled vessel into port. Amongst all these, especially as you near the shore, 



BARTHOLDI S STATUE. 
















346 


Cities of the World 


there are countless row-boats to be seen, with brawny armed boatmen sending them 
over the swells or under the lee of a ship with perfect ease and indifference to any sort 
of danger. The rounding point that lies out between the Hudson and Jersey City on 
the west, and Brooklyn and the East River, spanned by the great suspension bridge, on 
the east, is Battery Park. To the east rise the green walls and red sheds of the Barge 
Office of the New York Custom House, to the west is the round, flat roof of Castle Gar¬ 
den, with the green tree-planted park, and the broad promenade above the river wall, 
between. From here, on the banks of both rivers extend wharves and docks, densely 
crowded with shipping; great covered piers filled with goods, which laborers of every 
nationality are constantly transferring to or from the vessels lying along the sides; and 
ferry-boat slips, where the big double-enders come in and go out all hours of the day 
and night, weighted to the water’s edge with people and vehicles. For thirteen miles 
along the city shore every foot of the Hudson River may be used as anchoring ground for 
vessels of the greatest tonnage; and the same is true, or nearly so, of nine and a quarter 
miles of the East River. So, including the capacity of the Harlem River in the upper 
part of the city. New York has a hundred and fifteen square miles of safe anchorage in 
almost any kind of weather. Another approach from the sea to the city is by way of 
Long Island Sound, out of which, with the irregular bays and rocky strait of Hell Gate 
for a connecting link and the Harlem River for a tributary, comes the East River. The 
Sound is wide and deep, a long and somewhat narrow sea sometimes touched by rough 
weather; it is separated from the ocean by the very considerable barrier of Long Island, 
dotted by lovely summer houses, fashionable watering places, and charming suburban 
cities. New York now includes the East River islands, Blackwell’s, Ward’s and Ran¬ 
dall’s, where the city prisons, work-houses and hospitals are situated; Governor’s, Bedloe’s 
and Ellis’s Islands in the Bay, occupied by the United States government; Manhattan 
Island, where the main part of the city is situated; and a portion of the mainland sepa¬ 
rated from the original New York by Harlem River, flowing into the Sound, and Spuyten 
Duyvil Creek, flowing into the Hudson. It is bounded on the north by the city of 
Yonkers, east by the Bronx and the East Rivers, west by the Hudson, and south by the 
Bay; its extreme length is sixteen miles, its greatest width is four and a half miles. 
The whole area is forty-one and a half square miles or twenty-six thousand acres, the 
home of one and one third million of people, a very large part of whom are crowded 
into the lower part of the island. The main thoroughfare of the city is Broadway; it 
begins in Bowling Green above the Battery Park, and makes a straight line till within a 
few blocks of Union Square, where it bears off toward the Hudson and extends in a di¬ 
rection nearly due north, through a qQiet almost deserted part of upper New York, to 
about 105th Street, where it is lost in another avenue, a block away from Riverside Park. 
At one end like the country; at the other, narrow, crowded, and thickly set with mag¬ 
nificent business houses towering hundreds of feet upward in noble facades. Through 



WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH BUILDING 





























348 


Cities of the World. 



all its distance it is a varying scene of wholesale trade, retail business, great hotels, 
fashionable promenades, open squares, places of amusement, and long blocks of private 
houses. The Battery, named from an old fort which once stood here, is green and 
pleasant, with winding paths and lines of benches where hundreds of people walk and 
sit all day long, enjoying the sea breeze and lively harbor view; but just above it, and on 
the roadways on all sides, there is a great confusion of horse-cars, carriages, trucks, and 
countless other public and private vehicles, dashing this way and that, rumbling over the 
stone pavements to the ferry-houses, the wharves, down side streets, or joining the 
dense throng of the Bowling Green, that pours into Broadway. The great office build¬ 
ings in the vicinity of the Battery are some of the finest in New York, particularly the 


THE OLD POST OFFICE. MADE OUT OF THE ANCIENT DUTCH CHURCH. THE SITE OF WHICH 
IS NOW OCCUPIED BY THE MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE BUILDING. 


large stone-trimmed structure of the Washington Building, which stands facing the 
Battery on the corner of Bowling Green, the site occupied by the hotel where General 
Washington used to stay in the days of old. To the east of it, across the crowded 
way, is another great red brick building with rich red terra-cotta ornamentation and a 
lofty square tower two hundred feet high. This is the newly finished Produce Ex¬ 
change, which is already famous for the broad view of the harbor, suburbs and city 
from the tower, and for its vast size and office-room, its handsome fittings and great hall 








N K\V YORK 




































































































































































































































































































































































350 


Cities of the Jl^orld. 

make it one of the chief buildings in New York. A few blocks up Broadway, in the 
midst of crowds of men with preoccupied and eager faces, hurrying up in one line, 
down in another, along the encumbered side-walks, past boxes and bales of goods, small 
fruit dealers, news and candy stands, beggars, and policemen, you are presently at the 
head of Wall Street. Great insurance offices, banks and business houses of various 
kinds and large importance, loom far skyward on all sides, and line the narrow easterly 
running side-street as far as one can see. Wall Street is the center of a network of thor¬ 
oughfares and alley-ways, in which the greatest banking and railway business of the 
country is concentrated. Wall Street proper extends from Broadway to the East River, 
a distance of half a mile; it is densely crowded with the offices of nearly all the money 
princes of the United States; here, too, are the Custom House, the Sub-Treasury, the 
Drexel Building, offices of stock brokers, lawyers, financial managers, and all the multi¬ 
tudes connected with these branches of business. The name Wall Street comes from 
the old Dutch wall which ran along here in the days of New Amsterdam, and made the 
northern limit of the settlement, and where the Sub-Treasury now stand the first Con¬ 
gress of the United States after the adoption of the Constitution assembled, and on its 
marble steps a fine bronze statue of Washington has been placed in memory that it was 
under this portico that our first President was inaugurated. 

Near by is the entrance to the Stock Exchange, which stands on Broad Street, near 
Wall, and is reached from three different streets. The interior is occupied by a spacious 
and lofty hall, having a gallery across one end for visitors. When business is at its 
height, the “ Floor” seems to be covered with a tangled mass of men and boys, shriek¬ 
ing and waving their arms aloft like maniacs. The entire “ Street,” as all this vicinity 
is called, partakes of the same excitement, and from ten till four it is filled with a vast 
throng, which, on a great field day, seems almost delirious. Bank messengers with bags 
of gold and packages of bonds, saucy office boys, quiet looking, but shrewd detectives, 
telegraph boys in their blue uniforms with brass buttons, carrying messages from all 
parts of the world; railway kings, who control the convenience, even the life and 
sustenance of thousands; tpruce clerks, and gray haired speculators. These and 
hundreds of others, whose lives are bound to the rise and fall of the market, make 
up the great surging tide of Wall Street in New York, from which run wires that hourly 
carry the news of successes and failures, large and small, to all parts of the world. 

Facing all this turmoil and confusion and these lines of stately architecture, stands 
the somber church of Old Trinity, the most venerated if not the oldest building in 
the city. This site was granted for a church before the year 1700; but the old church 
\vas burned in the great fire of 1776, and the building put up later was found unsafe, 
was pulled down and replaced by the present handsome Gothic sanctuary, which was 
finished in 1846. The brown sandstone of its walls and graceful steeple is in strong 
contrast to the majestic granite, brick and marble buildings which have since been built 


New York. 


351 


around it on all sides; but the old church does not suffer by comparison; and even if it 
<lid, New Yorkers would not be able to see it. The spire is two hundred and eighty-four 
feet high, and from it there is a fine view of the turrets, gables and towers and upper 
stories crowning the down-town buildings; the chimes ring out the hours in a solemn 
sweetness that is heard above the rumble and roar of the traffic filling a score of streets 
close by. The gates to the old graveyard, with its many quaint headstones and the 
Martyrs’ Monument, and the doors of the church, are usually open in the daytime. 
Inside the heavy walls the noise without is but dimly heard. The gray outlines of the 
groined roof and carved Gothic columns are lost in deep shadows, and richly brought 
out in warm colors from the stained windows. The beautiful red and white marble 
altar and reredos were built to the memory of William B. Astor. Trinity Parish owns 
•some of the most valuable property in New York, and is a very rich church, as well as 
a ruost active and far reaching one in charitable work. 

Few of the down-town streets are more interesting and full of variety than Fulton; 
it runs across the island, which gradually increases in width from the Battery northward, 
not far above Trinity. At its two ends are two of the greatest markets of the city— 
Fulton Market on the East River; Washington on the Hudson. It is the main thor¬ 
oughfare leading to Fulton Ferry, which carries over more people than any other, the 
boats being so packed sometimes that there is not a foot of unused standing room; it 
also reaches the other water front near a large Hudson River ferry, and has a larger 
number of well dressed men and women than any other place down town excepting 
Broadway. The street itself, like many of those running parallel and at angles with it, 
is lined with small retail shops on the ground floors and manufacturers’ lofts above, inter¬ 
spersed with large wholesale houses. There is a greater variety of articles offered for 
sale here than in any other one street in New York probably, from pins and needles to 
heavy iron-work, from guns and fishing tackle to expensive jewelry, from books and 
stationery to all sorts of cheap and cast off clothing, from paintings and bric-a-brac to 
old iron. 

A district extending for some distance above Fulton Street on the east side is the 
center of the hide and leather trade. It is called the “ Swamp,” from the overflows that 
used to occur here at very high tide. The streets are short and narrow, and the air 
redolent with the odor of salted hide and fresh sole-leather, mixed with the smell of kid, 
morocco and calf-skin. The approaches of the East River Bridge skirt the “ Swamp ” 
on the north, and beneath the lofty arches of the incline is New York’s only arcade of 
stores. This runs through a quarter of the most mixed up and irregular, narrow and 
encumbered streets of the city, and comes out finally and suddenly, upon the smoothly- 
mown and well-kept green of City Hall Park. 

Around and upon this stand a magnificent group of white marble buildings. Chief 
of these is the Post Office and United States Court Building, which covers a great tri- 


352 


Cities of the World. 

angle-shaped block on the south of the Park, and faces down Broadway from a point 
where several side streets open. Park Row branches obliquely off toward the east. 
From morning till night the press of pedestrians, and the noisy throng of every 
kind of New York vehicle, surge incessantly around this point. Half a dozen horse 
cars are coming down Park Row to the Broadway line, or starting up again all the time; 
coupes, hansoms, gentlemen’s coaches, with here and there a light buggy dart in and 
out amongst lumbering drays, four-horse express wagons, carts, lumber wagons and 
conveyances without number, so thick that the whole passage on the Broadway side is 



NEW COURT HOUSE, CITY HALL PARK. 

often blocked for ten minutes at a time, and crossing is unsafe except under the escort 
of a policeman. 

Facing the Post Office on the south is the tall, handsome entrance of the Herald 
Building, and above it lies Printing House Square. Opposite, the sombre gray building 
of the Astor House fills a block on the western side of Broadway; and reaching away in 



























NEW YORK HERALD-PARK P,ANK, 









































































































354 


Cities of the IVoi'ld. 


every direction are tall warehouses, newspaper offices, publishing houses and great busi¬ 
ness establishments of the wholesale trade. 

The Post Office and Court Building is the most imposing edifice in New York; 
the width of the south front is occupied entirely as an entrance; it measures a hundred 
and thirty feet, or a little more than one third the width of the facades on Broadway 
and Park Row, and less than one half that of the northern front. The basement is one 
great apartment, devoted to the sorting of letters and making up of the mails; the first 
floor, reached by handsome staircases and a dozen elevators, is the receiving department; 
off from its stately corridors open the sections for money-orders and registered letters, 
the stamp and envelope bureaus and the private rooms of the postmaster and secretaries. 

The United States Court rooms are on the second and 
third floors. The Post Office is never closed; over twelve 
hundred men are employed, and mails are sent out to 
over thirty thousand post offices. During a year about 
a hundred and thirty-four millions of letters and other 
mailable articles are sent out. Nearly a hundred and 
fifty millions of letters and packages are received per 
year, about one half of which go into the boxes of the 
main office for delivery; about one fourth are distributed 
by carriers, the remaining fourth being sent to the stations 
in the other parts of the city. 

The City Hall, the seat of the city government, 
stands in the center of the Park. It was the first of the 
public buildings of the city, and was built between the 
years 1803 and 1812, near what was then the outskirt of 
New York, and cost over half a million of dollars. It is 
a white marble structure, with a square clock tower, sur¬ 
mounted by a high dome, and a long front with a stately 
portico in the center. In it are the Mayor’s Office, the 
Common Council chamber and other city offices, and the 
City Library. On the second floor is the “Governor’s 
Room’’ where official receptions are held. There is a 
desk in this room, at which Washington wrote his first message to Congress, and 
the chairs in which the first Congress sat, and the one which Washington used at the 
time of his first inauguration. The room is hung with a gallery of paintings, containing 
many portraits of men who have been of importance to New York or the nation. 

Above the City Hall is the new Court House, fronting on Chambers Street, the upper 
boundary of the Park. It is a stately Corinthian hall of white marble, with a colonnaded 
portico and steps, which are said to be the finest piece of work of the kind in America, 






The interior is equally beautiful and elaborate in the apartments fitted up for the State 
Courts and several city departments. 

Like nearly all the thoroughfares running away from Broadway, Chambers Street— 
the center of the hardware trade in New York—takes a straight course to the river, 
crossed by two elevated railways and ending among the commission docks and produce 
warehouses of West Street; but New Chambers, on the East side, is lost a short distance 
from the park in the tangled network of criss-cross roads, where large manufactories, 
publishing houses and other mercantile warerooms, are hedged in by great shabby dwell¬ 
ings, and some of the lowest shops anywhere seen. Five Points used to be not far from 


here; it is now marked by the neat Boys Lodging House, and city mission that was 
founded more than twenty-four years ago in the midst of the worst slums of the city. 
Although lower New York is fast becoming exclusively devoted to business, and is 
growing to be, like “ the city ” in London, the scene of the greatest activity during the day 
and absolute quiet after business hours, there are many thickly populated districts here, 
yet. Families of fiv'e to fifteen live in a single room; little children are born and brought 
up in cellars, dark rooms and sky parlors; sometimes in buildings partly devoted to 
business, sometimes in the great blocks of five or six story tenements. The tenement 
house regions swarm with miserable, shiftless men and women, and dirty vagrant chil¬ 
dren, whose wretched little lives may have only one bright spot—the Fresh Air Fund’s 


NEW YORK ACADEMY OF DESIGN. 





356 


Cities of the World. 


two weeks’ trip into the country in the summer. From these quarters come the great 
mass of the city’s cheap labor, and the greatest number of petty criminals. Numerous 
grog shops and low gambling dens stand on every block, and make a center of attrac¬ 
tion for groups of men and women. Sometimes these houses have a cram.ped inner 
court reached by narrow alley-ways beneath the buildings; but they have no yard room; 
nothing fresh or green, save here and there a poor little plant in some sewing woman’s 
window, or a bunch of flowers that has found its way here through the Flower Mission. 
Clothes are either dried on the roofs or by ropes extended from a window to the oppo¬ 
site wall. Further up town these tenements are succeeded by better built brick buildings 
witn two or three rooms to a family, and a small grass plot in a little back yard; and in 



the broad new streets of the upper districts there are substantial flats, let in floors, a fam¬ 
ily to each; and enormous, finely built apartment houses, that are among the most luxu¬ 
rious homes and most imposing buildings the city can show. These are in the vicinity 
of Central Park, and along the streets and avenues near the center of the city, while 
the poor tenements are mostly near the river fronts. The localities adjacent to the 
wharves and docks teem with a sort of life peculiar to themselves. The streets, the 
dirtiest and most unsightly you can find, are always choked with heavy drays, trucks, bag¬ 
gage and freight wagons; the sidewalks and the wharves, lined with shipping whose bow¬ 
sprits extend far across the street, are crowded with “waterside characters,’’ lounging 
































New York. 


357 



amongst the roughest of the laboring classes who find employment here. Low 
“ dives ” and rum-shops and eating houses are at every turn. But in the midst of all 
this, much of which hinders rather than helps traffic, there is more important business 
carried on in the vicinity of West Street along the North River, and South Street on the 
East River, than it is possible to estimate. In the vicinity of the Hudson River block 
bounded by West, Little Twelfth, Washington and Gansevoort streets, known as the 
Market Wagon Stand, is a strange sight in the early mornings. For nearly a mile, 
within a few blocks of the river, the streets are packed close with market wagoners from 
the country, who have brought in part of New York’s vegetable supply for the day. By 


seven o’clock, the tanned faces and big wagons of all the farmers, gardeners and huck¬ 
ster women have disappeared. Their produce is scattered far and wide through the 
city, into the markets, or on the wagons of the licensed venders, who cry their wares 
through the poorer of the uptown streets. 

The handsome new Jefferson Market is about a half mile from here, toward the 
center of the city, built in the same style and adjoining the house of the Third District 
Court of New York, commonly known as the Jefferson Market Police Court. The 


ASTOR LIBRARY. 






















358 


Cities of the World. 



buildings are of brick trimmed with light stone and terra-cotta, with gabled roofs, sur¬ 
mounted by several small ornamental towers and one large round clock tower, rising 
far above the Metropolitan Elevated Railway. 

The important retail stores for which the avenue is famous, begin in this vicinity, 
and extend in handsome lines of tall glass fronts, for several miles up. Next to Broad¬ 
way, it is the busiest and most crowded street of first class retail establishments running 
north and south. Not far above the Court House it crosses Fourteenth Street and, further 
on, Twenty-Third Street; both of these connect with Broadway, and combined, are the 
seat of the best stores for every kind of goods that fashion, taste, comfort or necessity 
could demand for household or personal use. Fourteenth Street crosses Broadway at 


Union Square, the first open space of any size on Broadway above the City Hall. This 
little park, skirted and crossed in several directions by broad, smoothly paved side¬ 
walks, covers about three and a half acres, planted with trees, laid out with green, vel¬ 
vety lawns. There is a large fountain in the center, surrounded with gay plants, one or 
two drinking fountains at the sides, and at the lower end there are large conspicuous 
statues of Washington, Lincoln and Lafayette. The boundaries of Union Square are 
Fourteenth and Seventeenth streets south and north; Broadway and Fourth Avenue,' 
east and west. The thoroughfares are very wide on all sides, and are built up with 


NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE. 



























ORAM) SIKKl/r AN’I) I'.oWKKV, SH<)\V1\0 KIKVAIKD RAILROAD 




























































Cities of the iVorld. 



360 

some of the most imposing business houses to be seen, with several large hotels and 
theaters. The crowd here is always interesting, always dense and well dressed. 

Below, Broadway is lined on both sides with great dry goods stores, extensive 
hotels, and a few theaters, all the way to Canal Street. Up and down in the road and 
on the sidewalk the greatest streams of people anywhere to be seen are constantly mov¬ 
ing. Early in the morning it flows chiefly downward, and is made up of working people, 
sewing girls, young clerks, and countless others pouring into it from every side street, 
and disappearing as suddenly as they came. At eight or nine o’clock the procession, 
still moving downward, is chiefly of business men on their way to counting rooms and 


GRAND CENTRAL DEPOT-GRAND UNION HOTEL, FORTV-SECOND ST. AND PARK AVENUE. 

otfices. From ten to three, there are two streams, one going down another up; there 
are ladies shopping, errand and messenger boys, strangers, collectors, sellers and other 
“ outside ” business men, darting in and out of doorways, with not a moment to lose. And 
between the sidewalks, each with its two throngs keeping to the right, all manner of 
vehicles pass up and down, with the densely packed and frequent running horse cars 
between. At four o’clock the promenading begins, when Broadway’s most elegant and 
fashionable crowd appears, to vanish in the course of an hour or so, and be followed by 
an upward stream of homeward bound workers. After nightfall the crowds are thinner, 













N^ew York. 


361 

and made up of pleasure seekers, midnight prowlers, and guilty souls that shun the day¬ 
light publicity. A few blocks to the east the scene is duplicated on a cheaper and 
shoddy scale beneath the Elevated Road of Third Avenue and the Bowery 

A few blocks above Union Square at Twenty-Third Street, Broadway and Fifth 
Avenue—the great street of palatial dwellings and Sunday promenades—meet at an 
acute angle just below Madison Square, the pleasantest little park in the great city 
The settees beneath the Tne shade trees and bordering the trim lawns, are often fillec, 
with guests of the hotels, or some of the residents near by, reading the morning paper 
or enjoying a neighborly chat. The white-capped nurses, and children playing running 
games, and flying about on roller skates, have a more aristocratic look than those you 



BOW BRIDGE, SK.4TING POND, CENTRAL PARK. 


see in any of the lower parks, and there is no square in the city but has them. In the 
vicinity tnere are eight or ten of the finest New York hotels and restaurants, including 
the Fifth Avenue Hotel and Delmonicos’, and the elegant cafe of the Hoffman House 
and the Brunswick Restaurant 

The most stately avenue of residences in the country lies between this square and 
Central Park. The artistic porches and windows of the Fifth Avenue mansions, the 
stately churches and noble halls that line it for miles, the smooth roadway and broad 
sidewalks, make it the most popular and agreeable drive and promenade in New York; 
here is the majestic St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and other fine churches; above Fifty-ninth 
Street it is bounded on the west side by Central Park, for more than fifty blocks. Now, 








/ 


362 ■ Cities of the W^orld. 

the buildings, still extensive and elegant, are rather more scattered, till finally it ends,, 
after a long stretch of vacant lots, interrupted once by Mount Morris Park, at a gay 
little bay on the Harlem River. 

At some little distance below Union Square, the plan of the streets undergoes a 
change; and from thence upward the whole width of the island is laid out in regular 
squares, streets known by numbers, extending from east to west, crossing at right angles 
the avenues running lengthwise. A few of these are occupied wholly or partially by 
stores, manufactories, and for other business purposes, but chiefly in solid blocks of 
dwellings, where one family to a house is rather the exception than the rule, especially 
out of Fifth and Madison Avenues. 



THE PROMEN.4DE, CENTRAL PARK. 


New York is below most large cities in the number of its pleasure grounds and 
breathing places, there being only nineteen in all, scattered among its closely built streets; 
even Central Park is small compared to the great parks of European cities; but it lacks 
nothing in beauty and variety, and in gayety or delicious quiet it ranks with the best. 
It is a regular oblong in shape, covering a little less than eight hundred and fifty acres of 
naturally beautiful grounds, comprising rocky hills, ravines, and picturesque lakes 
with banks overhung by fine shrubbery or noble shade trees, dotted here and there 
with fancy boat-houses, or arched over by rustic bridges. Long magnificent drives, 
bridle-paths and winding foot walks extend in every direction, crossing ravines by 
beautiful marble bridges, tunnelling hills with massive archways, branching off into 
sequestered arbors or terminating in lofty summer-houses. It is a popular resort for 
all classes and all ages. In it is the fashionable drive, where some of the finest horses 



I 


r 



THE LAKE IN THE CENTRAL PARK. 
































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Cities of the ]\ o 7 'ld. 


and most elegant carriages, as well as the richest and most celebrated people in the 
country may be seen almost any pleasant afternoon, riding in stately magnificence among 
every other grade of equipage, including the poorest hacks, or the commodious open 
park stages. The greatest mass of people is always to be seen on the Mall, a broad 
and beautiful tree-lined avenue, which extends from the vicinity of the old Arsenal, 
Museum and zoological collections to the lake, in about the center of the lower half of 
the Park. 

The finest of the museum buildings is that of Natural History at Seventy-seventh 
Street on the western outskirts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, nearly opposite, 



VINERV NEAR THE CASINO, OVERLOOKING THE PROMENADE, 
CENTRAL PARK. 


overlooking Fifth Avenue. On a knoll near by stands the great stone Obelisk, which 
was made by the ancient Egyptians, more than fifteen centuries before Christ, and 
erected at Heliopolis, afterward transferred to Alexandria during the reign of the 
Ptolomies, and to the E^nited States as a gift of the late Khedive of Egypt, a few years 
ago. 

About opposite the Natural History Museum and westward of it, is the lower end of 
Riverside Park, a charming place for a ramble or drive, extending in a long and narrow 
strip for about three miles along the high shore of the Hudson River. The head of the 
Park, almost all of which is comprised in one broad picturesque drive, has been chosen 
for the monument to General Grant, whose body now rests in a temporary tomb, built 
on purpose. 

Above Central Park, especially across the Harlem River, the city is more or less 




iVczu ] ork. 


365 




scattered. Blocks of brick or brown-stone residences and flats extend, with now' and then 
a vacant lot or set of shanties, in many of the streets and avenues, while in some places 
there are long stretches of unused land, and but partly improved avenues, intersected 


MUSIC STAND, CENTRAL PARK. 

than those of any other American city. It has the largest trade centered at any one 
place in the w'orld, being the headquarters for more than one half the United States 
commerce, and the greatest grain market in the world. Corn and wheat brought from 


OLD ARSENAL IN PARK, NOW THE MENAGERIE. 

by roads, some of them old and irregular, leading to the Jerome Park Race-course, 
Woodlawn Cemetery, and various parts of Westchester and Yonkers. 

The manufactures of New York include thousands of industries, and are greater 





366 Cities of the J]frld. 

the Western States are stored here in immense elevators, from which they are loaded 
into ships and taken to Europe. 

The schools, colleges, universities and special institutes, the public libraries ana 
benevolent institutions are very many, and stand among the best in the world. 

New York’s greatest suburb is the city of Brooklyn, lying beside the metropolis on 
the opposite bank of the East River, and connected with it by the magnificent suspen¬ 
sion bridge, which is the largest and finest of its kind in the world. The sister city is 
quite distinct in its management and its characteristics from Gotham, as Washington 
Irving has called New York. Many fine broad streets near the ferries are occupied 



0 


BRIDGE CONNECTING BROOKLYN AND NEW YORK CITY. 

with stores that rival those across the river, and the public buildings and city institu¬ 
tions are beautiful and imposing; the religious buildings are so many that it is well known 
as the City of Churches; but in the main this is a vast home city, where the great over¬ 
flow of New York’s poor, well-to-do and wealthy workers and business men make their 
homes. There is an air of comparative quiet here, though the streets are lined mile 
after mile with closely packed buildings, and teem with life, especially at night, when 
the city gathers to itself about six hundred thousand souls. The most attractive and 
aristocratic portion is the commanding bluff above the river, known as Brooklyn Heights. 
The streets here are built up with the same taste and elegance seen in the Fifth Avenue 



























































L 


NIAGARA. 























































































































































































































































































































Cities of the World. 


368 

mansions, to which Clinton Street and Columbia Heights correspond as a fashionable prom¬ 
enade, while Clinton Avenue, with a great width ornamented with splendid shade trees, 
and lined with beautiful residences, surrounded by handsomely designed grounds, sur¬ 
passes anything to be seen in New York, The Heights are below the Suspension Bridge, 
about opposite the Battery. Along the shore below, and extending out of sight in both 
directions, the entire water front is occupied by piers, slips, warehouses, ship-yards and 
ferries. At an angle some distance above the Bridge, opposite Corlears Hook at the 
foot of Grand street. New York, is the United States Cob Dock, encircled by the Walla- 
bout Bay, a deep channel which separates it from the Navy Yard. 

Below the heights, separated from Governor’s Island, where Fort Columbus stands, 
and General Schuyler rules supreme, is the great Atlantic Dock. This encloses a basin 
of forty acres’ extent, and a uniform depth of twenty-five feet. Hundreds of the largest 
ships that enter the New York port can be accommodated here at once. 

Brooklyn’s great resort is Prospect Park, which lies on the southern outskirts near 
Windsor Terrace and Greenwood Cemetery. It was not laid out until after the close of 
the Rebellion, but has no unpleasantly new appearance, in its vast extent of groves and 
lawns, grassy knolls and quiet dells; the roads are hard and smooth, the walks planted 
with trees and shrubbery, and amply supplied with drinking fountains, seats and shady 
resting places; and in many places there ajje little pavilions for refreshments. The 
lake covers over sixty acres, and is a grand place for skating in winter, a charming sheet 
for rowing in the warmer months. 

Lookout Carriage Concourse, the highest point, is a large knoll almost two hundred 
feet above the sea, with a fine view of the harbor and the distant points of beauty, extend¬ 
ing down the Bay, up the Hudson to the Palisades, and westward to the Orange Mountains. 
At the southern end of the Park twenty-five acres have been cleared and fitted for the 
National Guard Parade Ground, where all the well-drilled regiments of the two cities 
are inspected twice a year, and at other times games of polo, cricket and baseball are 
frequently played, 

Buffalo, the third city of the Empire State, is twelfth in the Union, exceeding in 
size and importance many of the State capitals, even that of New York. It stands at 
the head of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Niagara River, the granite tower of the City 
Hall stretching haughtily above the surrounding acres of countless factory chimneys 
and steam pipes, which send up filmy volumes that hang like a curtain over the sea¬ 
board districts. 

“ Northward, past the high bluffs crowned by the ruins of Fort Porter and the stone 
copings of The Front, flows the Niagara. Parallel with it, packed with long lines of 
freighted boats towed by slow-paced horses, is the Erie Canal. South and westward, 
Lake Erie spreads out in endless billows; and at the east, forming a noble background 
to the city, rise the Chautauqua hills and the highlands of Evans and Wales.” 


Buffalo. 


369 


In the foreground stands an imposing row of nearly forty grain elevators, extending 
a mile along Buffalo Creek; one of them on the spot where the first invention of a steam 
storage transfer elevator was built as an experiment in 1842. Part of the creek has 
been made into a capacious and well protected harbor, extending in front of the city 
and opening on the lake; but the great grain port is growing to need more than this, so 
the government is now building immense breakwaters to form a large outside harbor. 
All through the summer the harbor is full of life; tugs dart hither and yon, lake vessels, 
big and little, receive their cargoes, huge steamers and propellers take on passengers 
or freight for the upper 
lake, while numerous pleas¬ 
ure yachts steam toward 
the International Bridge, 
which opens in the center 
with a massive swing to let 
them pass. Finally, and 
most important, stretching 
in all directions, are the 
railroads between the Great 
West and the Eastern sea¬ 
board. The Queen City of 
the Empire State is the 
starting point or terminus 
of twenty different railway 
lines. The transfer yards 
at East Buffalo are the 
largest in the world, and 
the network of tracks that 
extends around the harbor 
side of the city, pours out 
a vast quantity of coal, salt 
and petroleum in the lake 
vessels, in return for cargoes of grain, flour, lumber, iron and copper ore. 

“ Commercial Buffalo is like a portly and self-satisfied spider, supreme in the center 
of her web.” -There are more than four square miles of territory within the city limits 
owned by railroad corporations; and so immense is the coal trade here, that if it were 
not so celebrated as a railroad center, it would *be famous as a coal depot; without 
either of these interests it would stand as one of the leading live stock markets of the 
country; this gone too, it would be a famous grape-sugar manufacturing place; the city 
originated this industry, and leads it before the world; and world-wide also is its fame 

24 







3/0 


Cities of the J]'orld. 


for the building of the cantilever bridge of the Michigan Central Railroad, over the 
Niagara River. Beside these there are immense oil refineries, malt-houses, breweries, 
distilleries, chemical works and ship-yards, hundreds of large factories that supply a 
thriving trade in carriage wheels, stoves, engines, farming tools, boots and shoes, to 
say nothing of the many active smaller establishments, in all making the number of 
Buffalo’s manufactories into the thousands. 

The streets of the city run out diagonally from Park Terrace, and adjoining Niagara 
Square, which lies up from the lake shore just above the mouth of the river-like harbor. 
The arrangement of the Buffalo streets is very peculiar, for while they nearly all run 
out from this common center, they are long and straight, excepting where Genesee, 
Batavia, and a few other streets crossing obliquely form regular square or oblong blocks. 
The chief business thoroughfare is Main Street, and crosses the town a few blocks east 
of Niagara Square. 

In the buildings here, as everywhere in her business sections, you see a picturesque 
combination of the old Dutch town and the new enterprising American city. But while 
Buffalo may be justly proud of her wealth and trade, it has little to boast of in public 
buildings. The City and County Hall is a fine Venetian structure in granite, with a 
clock tower almost as high as Trinity steeple in New York. Its main front is on 
Franklin Street; on the other side it overlooks Delaware Avenue, which, like nearly all 
the other thoroughfares, is broad, well-paved, and lined with noble shade trees. The Jail 
is opposite the City Hall, a massive limestone building; the other noteworthy structures 
are the United States Custom House and the Post Office, the State Arsenal, the Erie 
County Penitentiary, and surpassing all the others perhaps, the large and imposing State 
Insane Asylum. Of the seventy-five churches in Buffalo, the Roman Catholic Cathe¬ 
dral and St. Paul’s Episcopal are the finest, and although none of the schools or other 
educational institutions are particularly noteworthy as buildings, the city and the State 
has reason to be proud of them for their usefulness. The homes, hospitals and 
asylums are many; they comprise some of the noblest institutions of the country; es¬ 
pecially those where poor or homeless little folks are cared for in the day nursery, or 
where they live under the motherly eyes of matrons and nurses in great happy families, 
fostered by benevolent people. 

Buffalo is almost as much of a cosmopolitan city as New York. Germans, English, 
Italians, Swedes, Poles, Japanese, Turks and Arabs, most of them dressed after Ameri¬ 
can fashions, make up a large part of the throng in the crowded streets; have their 
names in the membership books of the leading clubs and societies; take their part in all 
the industries—one long business street is called Germantown—have their festivals, and 
in every way hold a very large share in the interests, the welfare and the importance 
of the Queen City. An hour’s ride brings you to the famous Niagara Falls. 

The capital of New York is Albany, a city of about a hundred thousand people. 


Rochester. 


37 ^ 

and ranking fourth in the State. It is finely situated on the Hudson River, not quite 
a hundred and fifty miles from New York city. Its importance as a river port is in¬ 
creased by connection with the North through the Champlain Canal, with the West by 
the Erie Canal, and by several lines of railroad meeting here. It is one of the largest 
timber markets in the world; receiving about seven million dollars’ worth every year; 
it is also a center for other business operations, and is especially noted for its stove 
factories. 

The streets are not generally very regular, nor its houses especially elegant, but its 
schools, colleges and other institutions are many and well planned; its public works, 
with a fine marble City Hall, are good. The arrangements and departments for the 



STATE CAPITOL, ALBANY. 

State government are very fine, particularly the new building of the Capitol, which is 
one of the noblest in America. It is built of granite, and covers more than three acres 
of ground, while in its fair proportions and its magnificent fittings, it can only be com¬ 
pared to the national capitol at Washington. 

The second city of western New York is Rochester. It is somewhat east of 
Buffalo, on the Genesee River, seven miles from its mouth in Lake Ontario. It has 
about a thousand less people than Albany, and has one of the best universities in the 
country. The river has four high and beautiful falls in the city, which are of practical 
benefit as well as picturesque value to the locality, and furnish water power to many large 
mills and factories. Among the most important industries are the manufacture of flour, 
clothing, boots and shoes, beer, locomotives, steam-engines and tools. It is also cele- 

















Cities of the JVo 7 'ld. 


ir- 

brated for great nursery gardens, from which plants and seeds are sent to all parts of 
the United States. Some of these nurseries bring a great deal of wealth into the place; 
and their owners have built magnificent villas surrounded with extensive grounds in or 
near the city. Nearly all the houses lining the handsome wide streets have pretty 
yards and gardens. The public and private buildings, exhibitions and art galleries, 
are fine also. The Warner Observatory is one of the best in the country, and the geo¬ 
logical cabinet at the University has not many superiors in the United States. 

The head of steamboat travel on the Hudson and the great seat of iron-works on 
this side of the Alleghany Mountains is Troy. The stove-works and bell foundries, for 
which it is celebrated throughout the world, are the largest in the United States, and 
there are great manufactories of railroad cars, machines, tools and many other things 
The water power for all these industries is furnished by the great dam crossing the 
Hudson opposite the city, and by the falls of some smaller streams in the vicinity. 
The almost limitless water supply is also used in running great steam laundries, which 
wash and iron vast quantities of clothes; some of which are sent from Boston, New 
^"ork and other large cities. In population Troy is a little more than half the size of 
Buffalo, and about the same as Syracuse. 

Syracuse is one of the principal inland cities of the State; it is a meeting-place 
for many railroads and canals, lies in the midst of a fertile and thickly populated part 
of the country, which gives it a large trade. It is principally noted for its salt works, 
which are the most extensive in the Union. The salt is made from the water of salt 
springs, and deep wells near the shore of Onondaga Lake. The salt water drawn from 
the wells by steam pipes, is left to grow thick in large wooden tanks, which cover 
several square miles of ground, each one having a roof which can be rolled over it in 
rainy weather. When thick enough, the water is drawn out and boiled in kettles, until 
it all passes off in steam. 

Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, and the metropolis of New England, stands 
fifth in size among the cities of the United States. According to the new census, there 
are nearly four hundred thousand people living there, and it is one of the most famous 
places in the world. It is the center of culture for the country, a wealthy and influential 
city, which is jokingly called the “Hub of the Universe.” The original settlement, 
around which there lingers so much of historic interest, is now part of what is known as 
the North End, and is abandoned to the poorest dwellings and great warehouses, while 
in every direction new districts are spreading out into fresh business quarters and ex¬ 
tensive avenues of dwellings. 

When you leave the broad expanse of Massachusetts Bay, and enter Boston Harbor, 
unless you are in a sloop or schooner that can find its way in through the northerly 
passage, called Broad Sound, it must be through the deep mile-wide channel, which 
connects the Bay with the Harbor beyond; sheltered from the stiffest gale by many 


Boston. 


373 


islands, that afford no beauty but a great obstruction to free in and outward passage. 
Large ships are not now as frequent visitors as they used to be in these waters; but 
there are many coasters and fishing schooners, while a few transatlantic lines. East 
Indiamen or sojne of the great Liverpool cattle steamers, are nearly always to be seen. 
The harbor is very safe and large, and Boston’s commerce, like its wealth, its banking 
capital, and the valuation of its property, stands next to that of New York. The water 
frontage of the city is immense. 

Old Boston is a great long peninsula; South Boston on the east of that, separated 
from it by the South Bay and the channel leading to the Harbor, is another peninsula 



FANEUIL HALL, BOSTON. 


lirotruding a long distance to the east; on the west of the city proper is Cambridge with 
the Charles River, itself like a bay, lying between and mingling its water with Millers 
River and the other streams that sweep around the head of North End, from East 
Cambridge and Charlestown, and mingling with the Mystic and Chelsea Creek, flow down 
between Boston and East Boston into the Harbor. It is a curious grouping of penin¬ 
sulas here, some of which have been much enlarged by filling in the little bays that once 
indented their shores, and all the ponds and creeks around, besides. In earlier days, 
the city was almost cut off from the mainland on the south and southwest, but that has 
been made as wide as the broadest part of the peninsula, and is so built up that not a 
trace of the old “ Neck,” as it was called, remains; and to it has been annexed the ad- 











374 


Cities of the IVoi'ld. 


jacent land on almost every side, so that Boston now includes almost twenty-four thou- 
sand acres, more than thirty times its original area. This includes the water forked 
districts of the built-up city, and the pleasant suburbs skirting them on all sides. 

The upper part of the city proper, with Charlestown above on the*left hand, and 
East Boston on the right, is the old North End, skirted back of the long wharves by 
Commercial Street, with its solidly built warehouses. Here are great stores, where 



WASHINGTON STATUE, BOSTON. 


grain, ship chandlery, fish and other articles are sold; and a continuation of it on the 
east Atlantic Avenue, keeps up a lively commercial aspect, way round to the New York 
and New England Railway Depot at the turn of Federal Street, from Fort Channel 
toward the Post Office. 

From the head of North End, Hanover Street, lately widened, takes its long curving 
course southward into the heart of crooked, irregular, busy-streeted Boston. This 
street has always been a well-known stand for cheap goods of all kinds. It is the main* 










Boston. 


375 



thoroughfare to the northerly vvnarveSj and the Winni- 
simmet Ferry, from the center of the city. The streets 
here, above, below and all sides, are crooked, irregular, 
narrow, broad, broken unexpectedly by squares, resumed 
or discontinued without any plan or uniformity, so that a 
stranger is constantly getting lost, even now, when many 
streets have been straightened, widened and re-named. 

Adjoining Dock Square, from which several of the 
newly improved streets of old Boston radiate northward 
toward the water-front, is famous old Faneuil Hall. There 
all the town meetings were held, from the time the Hall 
was first built until 1822. Before the Revolution it was. 
the scene of so many stirring events and earnest discus¬ 
sions against oppression, that it is called “ Cradle of 
Liberty.” In every crisis in our history since then these 
old walls have rung with the eloquence of patriotism, as 
firm for the right and powerfully prevailing as that of the 
early heroes and statesmen whose portraits line the 
room. The present Hall was built to take the place 
of the old one presented to Boston in 1742 by Peter 
Faneuil, and destroyed by fire about twenty 
years later. It was enlarged to its present size 
in 1805. There is a provision in the city char¬ 
ter forbidding its sale or lease; but it is at the 
disposal of the people, whenever a suffi¬ 
cient number, complying with certain reg¬ 
ulations, ask to have it opened. Part of 
old Mr. Faneuil’s bbject in building the 
Hall, was to provide a town market on the 
ground floor; but after the fire a new mar¬ 
ket called Quincy, after the mayor, was 
built opposite. It is a busy scene here 
during market hours; the place is large 
and crowded; the streets surrounding it 
are broad and full of life, and lead 
_ to the wharves facing the harbor inlet. 
On the other side of Hanover 
- Street are several more interesting 
' old places; Copp’s Hill Burying 


THE NEW (old) SOUTH CHURCH, BOSTON. 
















^76 ^ Cities of the World. 

.Ground, Salem Street and Christ Church and several others of the fast disappearing 
landmarks. Within the North End district, four of the eight railroads terminating in 
Boston, have their convenient, and in some cases, imposing stations. The Boston and 
Maine Railroad comes quite into the city, discharging its passengers and freight •«». 
Haymarket Square. This is another meeting-place for a whole radius of broad streets, 
coming mainly from Dock Square and the market on the east, although one or two busy 
thoroughfares lead toward the intricate labyrinth in the vicinity of Scollay Square. 



COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, SHOWING THE .BRATTLE SQUARE CHURCH AND THE VENDOME. 


From this most irregular triangle, with its statue of Governor Winthrop, its network 
of horse-car tracks, its Court Street and Tremont Row, you can take a direct road ap¬ 
parently to every part of Boston; but almost all of them take you a few blocks and 
leave you facing half a dozen courses, with names that mislead instead of guide you. 
But to the east lies a safe course for the present at least (if you are a sight-seer), in the 
group of buildings around Court Square, and to the south, the broad sweep of Tremont 
Street leads to the Common. The district east of Tremont Street, and extend- 































p 



VIEW AT THE HEAD OF STATE STREET, BOSTON 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Cities of the World. 


0 / 


8 



ing south and eastward from Scollay Square, is now the great business center of Boston. 
State Street is the bankers’ and brokers’ headquarters; through and around Franklin,. 
Chauncy, Summer and Devonshire streets are great dry goods establishments, a branch 
of trade'in which Boston leads the country; and further on is the seat of the wool in¬ 
terests, another staple in which the “Hub” is a leading market. Besides these 
branches of trade, you will see wholesale houses in iron, groceries, clothing, paper, 
fancy goods and stationery, books and pictures, music and musical instruments, jewelry, 
tea, coffee, spices, tobacco, wines and liquors, and many other branches of trade all 

clustered within a compara¬ 
tively small area, in the cen¬ 
ter of the city. Here is the 
retail trade too, and an army 
of lawyers guarding its out¬ 
skirts; from here the great 
Boston papers are issued, 
and the fame of actors and 
singers spread abroad 
through the city. It is 
the center of business, of 
thought and influence, 
and much of the pleasure 
of the New England cap¬ 
ital, and contains at the 
same time, several of the 
chief buildings, public and 
partially so. 

Perhaps the most no¬ 
ticeable of the group nearest 
Scollay Square, is the tall 

square Concord granite 
STATE HOUSE. ^ ^ ,, 

structure of the City Hall, 

with its dome crowned by an American eagle. Upon the lawn in front are statues of 
Franklin and Josiah Quincy; and back of the Hall, fronting on Court Street, is the 
County Court House. These substantial, plain, gloomy walls, with massive Doric por¬ 
tico held up by huge columns of fluted granite, will be superseded before long prob¬ 
ably by a new and more suitable one on Beacon Hill. In the pleasant looking Quincy 
granite structure on the corner of Tremont Street and Temple Place, the United States 
Courts meet. Its long, arched windows, massive towers and gray walls, make it look 
more like a church, than St. Paul’s, next door, with its severe Ionic portico and plain 
attic above. 






Boston. 


379 


Several of the narrow old thoroughfares and some of the newly broadened streets 
around this block are always filled with a stream of men and women, going toward or 
coming from the general Post Office. The building is also devoted to the Boston Sub- 
Treasury, and is a great massive structure occupying a large block and facing a spacious 
triangular square, at a point where the busiest streets of Central Boston come together 
from every direction. Three corridors, parallel and nearly on a level with the adjacent 
streets, run around the ground floor of the building, partly surrounding the great hall, 
where the post office work is carried on. The Sub-Treasury is in the second story, and 



POST OFFICE. 


has a splendid large hall, profusely adorned with rich marbles and variegated marezzo 
slabs, bronze chandeliers, plate glass and other costly trimmings. The Post Office is 
surrounded by the Equitable Building and Signal Service Offices, fine large insurance 
companies’ buildings, the Simmons Buildings and other imposing looking structures, 
or important seats of business; while on the adjacent blocks to the west are the offices 
of the great newspapers, the Advertiser, Post and the Transcript, near together and a 
little beyond the Old South Church on Washington Street, the Herald, Jourfial, and the 
Globe are printed in the vicinity of some of the great hotels. The Old South Church, 
quaint and interesting of itself, is one of the most famous historical buildings in the 
United States. It is now preserved by the Boston people as a loan museum of histori- 












38 o 


Cities of the JI’orid. 


cal relics. A tablet above the entrance on the Washington Street side of the tower, 
gives the main facts connected with the history of the church, which often served as a 
town-hall in the troublous times, when popular feeling ran high, and the early orators 
drew crowds too great for Fanned Hall. There is not much of the old appearance left 
now; but the records are preserved, and the museum is full of interest to all Americans, 
with its Revolutionary weapons, its flags, quaint old furniture, portraits of the New 
England fathers, and other curious and valuable mementoes. A little further on is the 
Old State House, which has been restored within the past few years, and now looks very 
much as it did when the meetings of the general colonial court were held here, and after 



CITY HALL. 


the Revolution those of the Commonwealth. Above the Old State House, Court Street 
opens into Scollay Square, and below it. State Street leads past the stately Custom 
House to Long Wharf. There seems to be no end to the interesting places, new and 
old, within this small district of Central Boston, with its great mercantile activity, and 
its public buildings. 

Following Tremont Street, from its head at Scollay Square, the most prominent 
building you see is the Boston Museum, by far the oldest, the handsomest, most com¬ 
plete and brightest place of amusement in the city. The museum part is of little im- 








Boston. 



RECTORY OF TRINITY CHURCH, BOSTON. 

ministers, Cotton, Oxenbridge and Davenport. Close to the museum is the granite 
home of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the oldest organization of its kind in 
America. The library of books and manuscripts is very large and fine, and many rare 
historical curiosities are preserved here with great care. Beyond is the first burying 


portance, while the theater is of great note. Adjacent are the Parker and Tremont 
hotels, and Tremont Temple, one of the most popular assembly halls in the city. On 
Tremont Row, in this vicinity, was the court quarter of old Boston, where stood the 
houses of Governor Endicott, Sir Harry Vane and Richard Bellingham, and the famous 


















382 


Cities of the Jl'orld. 

ground established in Boston. Its curious monuments date back to the middle of the 
seventeenth century, and the remains of many of the most illustrious people of New 
England have been buried beneath its sod. It is not now used for interment, and is 
only occasionally opened to visitors. Adjoining this acre of the dead in the heart of- 
the busy capital, stands old Kings Chapel, the chief Episcopal meeting house in old 
Boston; it was built in 1754, and afterward became the first Unitarian church. This 
stands on the corner of School Street, where the old Latin School used to be,—the 
place where so many of our great New England men spent the best of their study days. 



YOUNG men’s CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION BUILDING. 


The western continuation of School Street is famous old Beacon Street. This 
rounds the block occupied by the great Athemeum Museum library, the Boston Uni¬ 
versity, old Park Street Church, with the Burying Ground in the center, which stands 
at the head of Boston Common, and makes the western boundary of that famous park, 
till it leaves it far behind, keeping on its way across the site of the old “ Neck.” Op¬ 
posite this block, still on Tremont Street, stands the most perfectly classical structure 
in Boston, Horticultural Hall. Its noble proportions of white granite rise in three great 






Boston 


383 


stories, flanked by a colonnaded buttress and statuary, and surmounted by a colossal 
figure of Ceres upon the ornamental roof front. The ground floor is used for business, 
■and the two halls above are devoted to the exhibitions and meetings of the society, to 
parlor concerts, lectures, social gatherings and fairs. The old artists’ and musicians’ 
headquarters, the extensive Studio Building, are opposite. 

The Common is a comparatively small fan-shaped park, in about the center of 
the city. It is planted with trees, and covered with a velvety turf, intersected by paths, 
and skirted by malls, shaded by fine old trees. A little west of the center is the old 
Frog Pond, with its fountain, where the boys of Boston skate in winter, and, in mild 
weather, sail their miniature fleets. On one of the little hills near by is an elaborate 
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. Charles Street, on the south, separates the Common 
from the Public Garden, whose monument and flower-beds contrast pleasantly for both 
with the simpler natural beauties of the other. From the center of the Gardens, the 
long tree-lined drive and promenade of Commonwealth Avenue extends far southward 
to the suburb of Brookline, while on either side fine streets of residences run parallel 
with it and the Charles River to West Chester Park, 
these thoroughfares, and connect them with other 
main suburban avenues, there are many noble 
churches, institutes, schools and hotels. 

The largest number of Protestant churches here 
are Unitarian, but almost every civilized religion is 
represented, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of 
the Holy Cross is the largest church in New England. 

It is in the early English Gothic style, and covers 
more ground than the cathedrals of Strasburg, Pisa, 

Vienna, Venice or Salisbury. The front is but¬ 
tressed and towered with three spires of unequal 
height, two of which rise high above the pointed 
roof. The pillars that support the lofty clerestory 
and open timber roof are of bronze. The great 
organ is one of the best in the country, and the 
beautiful stained glass of the immense windows is 
protected by outer windows of heavy plate glass. 

There are a great many hospitals, asylums and ref¬ 
uges in the city, which generously and ably, and often 
freely, provide for the helpless, homeless and dis¬ 
tressed of the great capital. It is said that there has been more labor, material, and money 
laid out in leveling the ground, reclaiming land from the water, straightening and widening 
the streets, and improving the territory in every way, than has been spent for the same 


On some of the streets that cross 



LIBERTY TREE, BOSTON COM.MON. 



384 


Cities of the World. 



purposes in all the other chief cities of the United States. The broad water-courses 
are crossed by causeways and bridges, excepting the wide channel to East Boston. 
This is reached by ferries, to keep the harbor open to the Navy Yard in Charlestown. 
This district is also noted for the Bunker Hill monument. 

The people of Boston are, on a whole, the most intellectual of any city in the 
country. It has been, and is the residence of the greatest number of literary people in 

the United States; its art schools 
are admirable; its musical instruc¬ 
tion at the Conservatory and else¬ 
where, is of the best; it leads in 
common school education, and in 
the number and excellence of its 
lectures and other intellectual op¬ 
portunities. This is largely due to 
Harvard University at Cambridge. 
This is the oldest and one of the 
most famous in the country. It is 
composed of a thorough classical 
college, schools of law, medicine, 
dentistry, theology, science, mining 
and agriculture, each with its own 
funds, independent of any other; but all under one general management. Some of the 
buildings are very fine; all are good, but Memorial Hall, built by the Alumni, or former 
graduates, in memory of Harvard men who fell in the Civil War, is the grandest and 
most beautiful of all. 

Not very far from the college stands the Washington Elm, under which General 
Washington took command of the Continental army on the 3d of July, 1775. This is 
the last tree of a noble forest that once covered all this part of Cambridge. A short 
distance away is the house where Longfellow lived, and in many directions throughout 
the town there are places to be pointed out, where great writers and scholars live or have 
lived to the benefit of the world and the glory of Cambridge. 

This suburb is also famous as the first place-in America where a printing press was 
set up, and it has now some of the largest and finest printing and publishing houses in the 
country. Cambridge is not under the city government of Boston, as the other adjacent 
places are; it is a city of itself, with over fifty thousand inhabitants. 

The second city of Massachusetts is Lowell: it has about sixty thousand people, 
who are, for the most part, engaged in some of the large manufactories of the place. 
The Merrimac River supplies the power, and has been the chief means of the growth of 
the city. More cotton cloth is made here than in any other place in the United States, 


NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC, BOSTON. 













]\^orc ester. 


3«5 



excepting one. It has large works where calicoes are printed, and factories where woolen 
cloths, shawls, carpets and stockings are made. The companies owning these mills 
have large model boarding houses, where only operatives live; and fine hospitals where 
sick employees are cared for free of charge. The city has beautiful public squares, 
and handsome avenues, the scenery is most picturesque, especially toward the river 
and adjacent suburbs. It is quite an important railroad center, and is provided with 
public halls, libraries and excellent institutions of all kinds. 


HARVARD COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 

Worcester, with about three thousand less people than Lowell is another noted 
manufacturing city of Massachusetts. It is in the center of a fine agricultural district, 
in a valley surrounded by beautiful hills. The streets are broad and shaded; the court 
house, the hospital, orphans’ home and other benevolent institutions are celebrated in 
many parts of the State. More than fifteen hundred people are employed in making 
boots and shoes, which is the chief industry of the city; but there are also other large 

25 






386 


Cities of the JVortd. 

manufactories, particularly of machinery and tools, thread, yarn, carpets, blankets and 
jewelry. The Worcester schools are among the best in the Union. In connection with 
the Institute of Science, there is a machine shop, where the students add to their knowl¬ 
edge by constant practice. The best library and cabinets are those of the American 
Antiquarian Society, which has some very fine buildings and e.xtensive collections. 

Lowell’s rival in cotton cloth manufacturing is Fall River, a place of about fifty 
thousand people, at the mouth of the Taunton River. It is also a seaport with a fine 
harbor, visited by many vessels. It has a woolen factory, two calico print works, 
machine shops and other mills. A line of large and splendid steamboats connects the 
city with New York, and several railroads e.xtend to other important places in the State. 



PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISL.4ND. 


After the metropolis, the State of Rhode Island has in Providence the largest and 
richest city of New England. Standing on an arm of Narragansett Bay, it is the principal 
jiort of entry for the State, and has steamboats from New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore 
and Norfolk, constantly going in and out of its fine harbor. The population of the city is 
a hundred and five thousand, and a large part of the people are interested in its manu¬ 
factories; nearly a hundred and fifty of these are jewelry works; the Gorham Silver 
factories are the largest in the world; and the cotton and woolen mills are very exten- 


























N^ew Have 71 . 


387 


sive; but beside these Providence has great interests centered in tool-making, screw- 
works and the manufacture of rifles, stoves, locomotives and fine engines, beside the 
trade in print calicoes, which is greatest here of any place in the United States. 

The city being on both sides of the Providence River, as the harbor is called, it 
has the full benefit of its water advantages; and to these are added two small streams, 
which supply the manufactories with water power. Above the two bridges crossing the 
river, it expands into a cove, which is a mile in circuit, and bordered by a handsome 
park, shaded with elms. In 1764 a college was founded here, and being largely en¬ 
dowed by Mr. Nicholas Brown, was named after him. Brown University. It has five 
colleges with scholarships and stipends to aid the students, a good library, a museum 
and a portrait gallery. Mr. Brown also contributed to the Athenseum, and his bene¬ 
faction was followed by other generous gifts toward noble institutions, of which Provi¬ 
dence now has a goodly number. 

Next to Providence, and a little more than half its size in population, is New Haven, 
the beautiful “ Elm City ” of Connecticut. It stands at the head of a bay opening into 
Long Island Sound. The city itself is nearly level, occupying a sandy plain between 
the Quinipiac and Mill rivers on the east, and the West River on the west, quiet, pictur¬ 
esque streams that flow through the green meadows of the outskirts, gleaming like 
silver in the sunshine or reflecting the green of overhanging foliage. On either side of 
the city rise abruptly the bare faces of West Rock and its larger mate East Rock. 
Between, almost hidden by heavy branches in foliage season, is the city of commerce, 
manufactories and education. A generous gentleman left a large sum of money, with 
which a smoothly paved winding drive has been made around East Rock from the base 
to the summit, while all the natural beauties of trees and wild flowers and bush-grown 
dells are preserved. From the top of the Rock the view is broad, full of variety and 
beauty. To the left is the broad harbor with its wharves and docks busy day and night, 
for the city is the terminus for several steamboat lines, and is the center of retail trade 
with the surrounding country, and has nearly all the coal and freight of New England 
passing through it. Further out toward the broad blue waters of the Sound are the boat¬ 
ing grounds, and nearer by are the half hidden chimneys of New Haven’s large factories. 
Some of the largest of these are for clocks and carriages, but the city is more celebrated 
for Candee’s rubber works,—the second largest in the world—and for the Winchester 
rifle, pistol and cartridge factory; but there are also many other extensive industries, 
contrasting strangely with the quiet studious life led by many families connected with 
Yale college. The center of New Haven is occupied by a great tree-planted and grass- 
grown square called the Green. This is skirted by four broad streets, well-built up on 
one side with stores and hotels. On the other side the wide pavements are planted with 
trees and form part of the Green, which is intersected in many directions by cross walks 
and occupied here and there by the College buildings, some of the old churches, and one or 


Cities of the Woi'ld. 


388 

two handsome public buildings. Through the Green and some of the adjoining grounds 
of the college is Temple Street, which for its perfect arch of graceful elms is known all 
over the world. Besides the various departments of the College, which is one of the 
greatest and best in America, there are Hopkins’ Grammar School, several other well- 
known academies and boarding schools in New Haven. The college is a university in 
all but name, and has for over a hundred years been a center for a large part of the 
social life of the city. Along the beautiful tree-lined avenues running from the Green 
in all directions there are to be seen handsome houses, surrounded by tasteful 
gardens, which are pointed out as the residence of one or another of the great intellectual 
or educational men of the country. None of the streets have a crowded appearance in 
the buildings, and many of the edifices for college or public use throughout the city are 
very handsome. There are five daily newspapers, and a large number of weekly, 
monthly and quarterly periodicals published here, while some of the most prominent 
scholars and writers we have make the city their home. 

The capital of the State, once shared by New Haven, is now solely situated at 
Hartford, about thirty-six miles distant. It is known as the Queen City of New Eng¬ 
land, from its beautiful situation on small hills at the junction of Park River with the 
Connecticut. The Park River runs through nearly the center of the city, and is crossed 
by a dozen bridges, while the Connecticut is spanned by one long bridge leading to East 
Hartford. The city is regularly laid out, and Main Street is its great thoroughfare and 
principal place of business. On State House Square in the heart of the city, is the old 
brick State-house, where the Hartford Convention met in 1815; in the secretary’s office, 
the original charter of the colony hangs, framed in wood of the charter oak; and in the 
state chamber, Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Washington is kept in company with portraits 
of all the governors of the colony and State from 1667. In the outer portions and 
suburbs of the city are many fine residences; and nearly encircled by Park River are the 
fair pleasure grounds named Bushnell Park. In the western part is the State capitol, 
on the site once occupied by Trinity College. Resting on the brow of a hill, it com¬ 
mands a splendid view, and its sculptured galleried front and lofty arches and columns 
in white marble, are seen from all parts of the city. The new site of Trinity College 
covers about eighty acres on Rock Hill, approached by avenues leading through the 
most delightful parts of the city. The buildings are of brown-stone, designed to form 
three great quadrangles and to be in every way the best edifices for education in the 
country. There are some magnificent aristocratic family mansions in Hartford. “ Mark 
Twain,” the late Mrs. Sigourney, and several other well-known literary people, have 
made their residences here. The first deaf and dumb institute was founded in Hartford 
by Dr. Gallaudet in 1817; it stands on a shady hill, and usually has over two hundred 
inmates all the time. There are other beneficent institutions, public buildings, churches 
and monuments, and a large number of wealthy societies in the city, for it is said that 


Ha7'tfo7'd, 


3^9 


in proportion to the number of people, about forty-three thousand, Hartford is the 
richest city in America. It is also celebrated for its fine libraries and schools, and its 
great insurance companies, which have agents all over the United States. The works 
of the Colt Firearms Company cover almost a hundred and twenty-five acres of ground; 
beside these there are other pistol and rifle works, large steam-engine and sewing ma- 



THE CAPITOL, HARTFORD. 

chine factories, carriage shops, and industries in silk, hardware, screws, gold pens and 
spectacles. 

The chief place of northern New England, and fifth in size after Boston, is Portland. 
It is the principal city though not the capital of Maine, and is beautifully situated on a 
peninsula three miles long and one quarter that width, that forms a spacious harbor on 
the south and west side of Casco Bay. Its streets, which are broad and shaded with 





390 


Cities of the lVo7'ld 



friends’ meeting-house and academy, south fourth street, PHILADELPHIA. 


trees, ascend from the shore to the heights above, where the finest residences and some 
of the large public institutions are situated. It is the terminus, or an important depot, for 
a large number of railways, and a great transfer station from land to water routes. Its 
imports and e.xports are each worth over twenty million dollars a year, being largely 
with Canada, while several lines run to Europe, the West Indies, South America and 
many to the principal United States ports. The water front is lined with wharves and 
docks, beyond which runs a marginal railway. The Custom House, in cold dignity of 
granite and marble, is just above the principal wharves, while Congress Street and the 
other main thoroughfares are higher up. The city is closely and well-built; the stores 


are very showy and well-stocked, and there is an air of coming and going, peculiar ta 
seaport cities, all the time. Many a visitor who has to wait over several hours for train 
or boat is grateful for the excellent free library he finds in Portland; or takes pleasure 
in seeing the good institutions, although these do not differ greatly from those in every 
public-spirited, well-managed city. Ship-building and the manufacture of iron are im¬ 
portant industries, along with works for preparing or making petroleum, carriages, 
furniture, varnishes, boots and shoes, moccasins, cement, pipe, leather, sleighs, jewelry 
and many other things. The population of Portland is not quite thirty-five thousand. 

The second place among our great cities is claimed by Philadelphia. Boston 
disputes this in general importance, but not in size; for the population of the Pennsyl¬ 
vania metropolis is about eight hundred and fifty thousand. New York’s alone is greater. 
It is reached from the sea through Delaware Bay, being situated on the Delaware River 
at the mouth of the Schuylkill. It is a broad, fair stream, and the bay is fine enough to 



Pkiladclphia. 


39 ^ 


accommodate all the fleets in the world. The commerce and other industries sustained 
by the rivers is of great value, not only to the city but to the interests of the nation. 
The city lies on the west bank of the Delaware, but its limits extend on both sides. It 
occupies the peninsula between the two rivers, and extends for some distance westward 
of the Schuylkill. It is said to contain three distinct cities. Uptown, Downtown and 



the northeast portion, still called Port Richmond. This is where the coal wharves are, 
and the huts of the shad fishermen, along with some better dwellings. Miles of wharves 
and piers line the Delaware shore, where the largest vessels come up, and a greater 
commercial trade is carried on than in any other city of America, excepting New York. 











Cities of the World. 


392 



The plan of the city was laid out in regular blocks, called squares by the Philadelphians, 
by William Penn in 1682; and although it has long since outgrown the limits he set, the 
same regularity and simplicity of arrangement have been followed. The streets are 

numbered from the river, and named north and 
south, and the houses are so numbered that one who 
knows anything about the city can tell just about 
where a house stands, if he know the number. The 
first block of a street begins with number one; the 
second begins with one hundred; 
the third block two hundred; 
and so on in blocks of one hun¬ 
dred throughout. The practice 
of numbering houses on the 
streets of our cities began here; 
it was introduced by Marshal, 
who took the second United 
States census in Philadelphia. 
It was in that census that all the 
inhabitants of the country were 
mentioned by name. 

The most 
import ant 
streets inter¬ 
sect the city 
from oppo- 
site direc¬ 
tions, a n d 
cross each 
other in the 
center,where 
the magnifi¬ 
cent marble 
building of 
the City 
Hall stands. 
Market 

THE RIDGWAY LIBRARY, PHILADELPHIA. Street runS 

from the 

Delaware across town, over the Schuylkill, to Cedar Creek on the western outskirts; and 




















Philadelphia. 393 

Broad Street runs through the center of the peninsula, from north to south. It is in 
these streets and in their vicinity, that the business activity and the gayety of Phila. 
delphia reach their height. The thoroughfares are very broad; the stores, public offi¬ 
ces, churches and other buildings are large and handsome; and the crowd is ever present 
and truly characteristic. The people do not rush about wildly jostling each other with 
hasty apologies, if any, as they do in New York and western cities; they have an air of 
quiet and dignity, without being careless or inactive. There is a good deal of variety 
and some magnificence in the buildings along the greatest streets of the Quaker City; 
but the majority of the less important and residential streets extend in regular squares 



of plain brick houses, trimmed with marble. These 
are very neat and pretty, the more so that no house¬ 
keeper fails to have the entire front of her house and 
sidewalk below kept spotlessly clean; so the brick is 
bright red and the marble a gleaming white. Al¬ 
though Philadelphia is one of the greatest home cities in the country, it has no tenement 
houses; a dwelling is usually occupied by one family; the average is five persons to a 


VIEW LOOKING UP THE DELAWARE RIVER. 













394 


Cities of the World. 


house. This is due to the building societies, which encourage the working people to 
save money and invest it in their own homes. 

Some of the most interesting places in the city are scattered among the imposing 
retail houses, banks and public offices of Chestnut Street, which runs parallel with 
Market Street. The most celebrated of these is Independence Hall. This was formerly 
the old State House of Pennsylvania, in which the Declaration of Independence was. 



INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA. 


signed. It is a historical museum now, itself the chief relic of all. There are many 
portraits on its walls of famous Americans, and some very old and valuable historical 
mementoes. The celebrated old Independence Bell is kept here, and you can see the 
great crack in its side that came when its iron tongue sounded out the knell of British 
rule, and the joyful news of American liberty. In 1774 the first Continental Congress 
met at Carpenters’ Hall, on the same street, below the old State House. The national 







Philadelphia. 395 

Mint was the first in the country, and now more of our coin is turned out here than any¬ 
where else. 

Many of the banks are among the most prominent buildings in the city. The 
Bank of North America is the oldest in the country, although not so handsome as 
several near by. This vicinity is the great financial and commercial headquarters of 
the city, the “Wall Street” of Philadelphia. Traffic is the thickest here, under the 
shadow of the courts, the stately Custom House, resembling a Grecian temple, and the 
modern-looking French structure of the Post Office. Some of the great newspaper 
offices are here. One of Philadelphia’s earliest interests was printing. The first type 



PUBLIC LEDGER BUILDING, PHILADELPHIA. 


foundry in America is still at work here. Large quantities of school books are issued 
here, for Philadelphia is far advanced in education. The schools are good and numer-' 
ous. The University of Pennsylvania was originally founded under another name by 
Benjamin Franklin, and Dr. William Smith. Among the other colleges and universities 
best known, is Girard College, with one of the finest groups of buildings in the city. 
The main building is of white marble, and is celebrated as the finest piece of Corinthian 
architecture in the world. This is different from most of our colleges; it was founded 
by Stephen Girard, a good-hearted but eccentric gentleman, for the education of poor 





































39^ 


Cities of the U^orld. 

white boys without fathers, and according to his will no minister or ecclesiastic of any 
sect or church is allowed to visit the college or to have anything whatever to do with its 
management. In Philadelphia, the first American Academy of art was founded; the 
present building is magnificent outside and in, and the collections filling its cabinets and 
galleries are made up of beautiful sculptures and paintings. The Ridgway Library 
is another noble structure on the same street. This is but one of many fine libraries, 
for either public or private use. 



FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA. 


The Pennsylvania metropolis has a fair share of the benevolent institutions and 
charitable societies of all kinds that are to be found in every city of the United States. 
Its churches, too, are many, representing all Christian and Hebrew religions. The 
Friends, or Quakers, are a larger body here than in any other city, but the Presbyterians 
have a larger number of churches than any other sect. It has often been said that the 
“ City of Brotherly Love ” is the most aristocratic in the country; the best society there 
is made up of fine old Pennsylvania families, who keep quite aloof from Philadelphians 
in general, but make a most charming circle, given to the most perfect hospitality among 



Pittsbii 7 'gJi. 397 

themselves. When honored old William Penn planned his city, he laid out five public 
squares, but the increase in size and inhabitants soon made a need for more, and now 
there are many pleasant breathing places in almost every quarter; while west of the 
northern portion the Schuylkill threads its way through one of the largest and hand¬ 
somest city parks in the world. There are nearly three thousand acres of improved 
grounds, covered with broad lawns, fine old trees and many other lovely spots, particu¬ 
larly along the stream of the Wissahickon. This flows through a picturesque rocky 
valley clothed with trees, shrubs and wild pines, and through dark dells, where it is 
broken by numerous waterfalls. The zoological gardens adjoining has the finest 
menagerie in America; the roads are the favorite drives for all the people and the river 
is the great rowing place in summer, and skating rink in winter. 

The seat of the coal and iron trade in America is Pittsburgh. It stands where the 
Allegheny and Monongahela rivers unite, forming the broad Ohio. The city has grown 
from the Fort Duquesne built by the French in 1754, which the English took and 
rebuilt, naming it Fort Pitt, in honor of the Prime Minister of England. The Ameri¬ 
cans kept to the name after the British yoke was thrown off, because William Pitt, or 
Lord Chatham, according to his title, was on our side, and said if he were an American 
as he was Englishman, he would never yield; “never, never, never!” Pittsburgh is 
now the thirteenth city of the Union. The main part of it occupies a level peninsula 
between the rivers, but the limits have been gradually extended till the city—including 
Allegheny—extends to the opposite banks’, covering the hills, and reaching far up the 
stream. The eastern part is built up with houses, some of them the luxurious homes 
of great mill and mine owners. The avenues are planted with trees and prettily laid 
out; but near the point where the Ohio begins, Pittsburgh is a closely built, bustling, 
smoky manufacturing place. Mile after mile is covered with glass mills, steel and iron 
works. Tall chimneys may be counted by the thousands, which, during working 
seasons, send forth such clouds of smoke, that the entire city is curtained off from view 
to any one standing on the fine bluffs of Washington Heights. But when the veil is 
lifted there is no better place to see the city; its massive buildings, its closely built 
business blocks, its acres of factories, cut through by thoroughfares through which a 
constant swift-moving stream of people is surging all day and night. There are rail¬ 
roads centering here from about every large city in the Union, and the river traffic 
extends up stream and down, with a port of delivery in the district of New Orleans; it 
is connected by steamboat lines with the whole Mississippi Valley. Among its public 
buildings are a fine court house, one of the largest Roman Catholic cathedrals in the 
country, bdside almost a hundred and fifty other churches, schools, colleges, public and 
private institutions and a United States arsenal. There are something near a hundred 
and sixty thousand people in the city, a large part of them being either Irish, German 
or English. Many bridges span both the Monongahela and the Allegheny; six cross 



39^ 


Cities of the Jlhrld. 

the latter river to the sister city of Allegheny, which is a part of the “ Smoky City ’ 
although it has a separate government. 

This now ranks as one of the chief manufacturing places of the “ Keystone Sthte;' 
and it is also a favorite place for the homes of many Pittsburgh business men. Horse 
car lines connect the cities, and if it were not for the river it would be hard to tell where 
one ends and the other begins. The Western Penitentiary here, is the finest structure 
in the vicinity; it is in what is called the Norman style of architecture, and usually has 
nearly five hundred inmates, who are employed in some mechanical labor. Allegheny 
is the seat of the Western Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian church, the Theo¬ 
logical Seminary of the United Presbyterian church, and the Allegheny Theological 
Institute of the Reformed Presbyterian church. The city park is handsomely laid out, 
and a favorite resort. The business here is much like that of Pittsburgh; it consists 
mainly of rolling mills for iron, cotton mills, foundries, machine shops, breweries, 
steel works, blast furnaces, and extensive locomotive works. The water communications 
by rivers and canals, and the railway connections, are much the same, though not so 
extensive as those of Pittsburgh. The population is a little less than eighty thousand. 

Scranton, a city of about forty-six thousand people, is another important Pennsyl¬ 
vania coal center. It is in the Lackawanna valley, one of the richest anthracite coal dis¬ 
tricts in the world. Bordering it are hills and mountains under which there are hundreds 
of mines that extend beneath the streets of the city. After the coal is brought up the 
shafts of the mines to the surface, it is loaded in long railway trains, and carried over 
the hills to the great manufacturing centers of the country, and the sea or river ports, 
to be sent all over the world. There are many blast furnaces in Scranton, beside rolling 
mills, foundries and machine shops. Nearly half the people are foreigners. Irishmen, 
Germans, Welshmen and others; the miners spend the best part of their lives under 
ground. Some of the wealthy and generous men who have made fortunes from the 
mines, have done a great deal to improve the city. Its schools, churches, library, 
opera-house and public works are good, and in one part there is an elegant park, where 
hard-working men and women and little children—for they also have to work in the 
mines—have delightful outings on holidays. 

After Philadelphia, the chief city of the Schuylkill is the iron manufacturing center of 
Reading. There are rich iron mines in the surrounding country, the ore from which is 
brought in and used in large furnaces, rollingmills, foundries and machine shops. The iron 
is then carried to other extensive factories that turn out great quantities of iron-ware, nails, 
steam boilers and iron pipe. The water power of the river is also utilized in large brick 
yards, cotton mills, hat factories, which, with hundreds of work-shops, give employment 
to a large proportion of the forty-three thousand people living here. The machine 
shops of the Philadelphia pnd Reading Railroad company alone employ three thousand 
men. 



399 


Harrisbu 7 'gJi — Wihnington — Xeiuark. 

The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburgh, a city of over thirty thousand people, 
situated on the Susquehanna River. This, too, is a manufacturing place, abounding in 
■coal and iron, busy with rolling mills, iron foundries and other Pennsylvania industries. 
It is surrounded by the beautiful scenery of a fertile country and broad clear river, and 
is handsomely laid out with wide shady streets, stately public buildings and fine houses. 

There is no State of our Union that does not do its work, give its wealth, and play 
its part in the grand Republic. Some of them, however, are almost overshadowed in 
•size by their larger neighbors. This is the case with Rhode Island and Delaware, which 
have been jokingly called the “Sleeve Buttons of the United States.’’ But Delaware 
also bears the title of the Diamond State, because although it is small in size it has an 
important place in the Union for vegetation and commerce. But it has no very large 
•cities. 

Wilmington, which stands first, is a town of forty-two thousand people, which is 
less than there are in Reading; and, drawing the line closely, it is even smaller than 
Hartford, Connecticut. Wilmington is regularly planned and finely situated on the 
high grounds between the Christiana and Brandywine creeks. Of its churches, which 
number nearly half a hundred, the “Old Swedes’ Church’’ is the most interesting; it 
has stood since 1698, and is still used. Nearly all the buildings are of brick, which are 
made here in large quantities. The streets are regular, and in some of them there are 
very fine-looking buildings, especially the city hall, custom house, post office, opera- 
house and the public institute and library. The commerce with the Atlantic coast and 
the West Indies is large and important; greater probably than the inland trade, although 
there are a number of railroad lines that meet here. Some of the manufactures have 
a national reputation, such as railway-car building, morocco, carriages, paper and brick- 
making. Other industries are in the iron works, boot and shoe factories, foundries, 
machine-shops and places where chemicals, parlor matches and a number of other things 
are made. But the leading trade is in iron ship-building. In this it is greater than 
any other place in the country. 

The fifteenth city of the Union, and our most important manufacturing center after 
Pittsburgh, is Newark in New Jersey. It leads particularly in making jewelry, India 
rubber goods, carriages, paper, leather and machinery. The Passaic flour mills pro¬ 
duce two thousand barrels of flour a day and immense factories employ hundreds of 
men and girls in making the celebrated Clark thread. 

Although Newark was settled by a Connecticut colony in 1665, and has long been 
an important and growing port and manufacturing place, it has now more the appear¬ 
ance of an overgrown town than a city whose population is equal to that of the United 
■States capital. It lies mainly on the west bank of the Passaic River, which broadens 
into Newark Bay further south, and is connected by the Kill von Kull with New York 
Harbor. Both banks are lined with docks and wharves. Near the river there are 


400 


Cities of the World. 


nothing but docks and factories, some of which are very extensive; but further west the 
long broad thoroughfare of Broad Street extends the length of the city from north to 
south. In the center of it are the principal block of stores, city buildings, banks, offices 
and insurance companies; and at either end it is lined with dwellings, and for the most 
part closely built up, but nearly everywhere planted with trees. 

The largest silk factories of the United States are located at Paterson, where also 
some very extensive locomotive works are situated close to the great water power of the 
falls in the Passaic River. The stream surrounds the city on three sides, and supplies- 
it with public water. There is a small park near the Falls, which tumble over a preci¬ 
pice fifty feet high. Paterson has very little attraction beyond its great manufacturing 
interests, which directly or indirectly employ the most of its fifty thousand people. 

Jersey City, like Brooklyn, is in all but mame a part of New York City, having 
come into existence by receiving the commerce and trade crowded out of the metropolis. 
It stands on the low peninsula opposite lower New York, once known as Paulus Hook,, 
now regularly laid out in wide streets crossing each other at right angles. Along the 
water front and for some distance back, it is made up of docks, piers, railroad termini, 
markets, warehouses and stores, interspersed with low wooden dwelling houses, un¬ 
wholesome shops and a large number of immense factories. On the heights there are 
handsome tree-planted avenues where many New York business men make their homes. 
The population is over a hundred and twenty thousand, four times that of Hoboken,, 
the adjacent city to the north. The docks and piers, where vast quantities of freight 
are landed, where many lines of ocean steamers discharge their passengers, and several 
great ferry lines come in, extend along the shore of both cities in unbroken lines, con¬ 
stantly half-hidden by shipping. 

Hoboken is mostly peopled by Germans, but in other respects differs very little 
from Jersey City, of which it virtually forms a part. In the northern part, upon a height 
of rock overlooking the river, stands Stevens’ Institute, one of the greatest polytechni- 
cal schools in the country. An elevated railroad has just been built from the Hoboken 
Ferry to the heights, as the cliffs west of the city are called. 

After Philadelphia the greatest Atlantic port for foreign goods is Baltimore. It is- 
reached from the sea through the Chesapeake Bay, and up the bay-like mouth of the 
Patapsco River. It is the chief city of Maryland, great as a port, a trading center by 
rail and water, a seat of learning, and the residence of some of the most celebrated 
foreigners and Americans of the last and the present century. It stands around a small 
bay running back from the left side of the Patapsco, about twelve miles from the 
Chesapeake, and two hundred miles from the open sea. A rapid little stream, called 
“ Jones’ Falls ” flows across the city, into what is called the North West Branch of the 
river, and divides old Baltimore and Fell’s Point on the east, from new Baltimore and 


Baltimore. 


401 

Spring Garden on the west. This furnishes immense water power for manufacturings 
and an abundant supply of pure drinking water. 

Spring Garden, once noted for its rowdyism, is now made up of the poorest dwell¬ 
ings; the new part of the city, or Baltimore proper, is the center of trade and the home 
of the wealthiest citizens. Its southern boundary along the North West Branch is 
lined with wharves, and in the center many of the broad, regularly laid streets open on 
Patterson Park. The principal public buildings are in the center of the city, just west 
of Jones’s Falls, which are grossed by a great many bridges. The streets here are, for 
the most part, narrower than in New Baltimore, and the squares, or blocks, are some¬ 
what smaller, but the buildings are very fine. The most striking one is the new city 
hall; it covers an entire square of more than half an acre. The walls and stately portico 
are built of brick and iron cased with white marble. The fourth story is surmounted 
by a mansard roof with a lofty dome and iron towers above. The interior is well 
adapted to public offices, and is elegantly furnished. A few squares to the south is the 
Custom House, near the head of the Branch. The four sides of this edifice are colon¬ 
naded, each column being a single block of Italian marble. One of Baltimore’s “ lions ”■ 
is the Peabody Institute, a gift to the city from that great benefactor to England and 
the United States, George Peabody. The Institute has a large free library, an academy 
of music, a gallery of art, and rooms for the Maryland Historical Society. It also^ 
provides free lectures by eminent literary and scientific men. There are few cities 
better provided with charitable institutions, and all kinds of arrangements to benefit 
people, from hospitals and asylums for the care of afflicted, to schools, institutes and 
libraries for education and intellectual advancement. Mr. Johns Hopkins, a mer¬ 
chant of the city, gave about seven million dollars toward a hospital and a university, 
which are among the finest institutions in the country. The University has seventy 
fellowships open to students from any part of the country, and a still larger number 
open to young men from Maryland and adjacent States, and to be gained by competi¬ 
tion. The main purpose of the University is to provide for and encourage higher edu¬ 
cation after students have graduated from the regular colleges. The number of monu¬ 
ments that embellish Baltimore in its streets and parks and buildings, have won for it 
the name of the Monumental City. In the extreme northwest, seven hundred acres are 
set aside for public pleasure grounds in Uruid Hill Park. It has twenty-five miles of 
carriage drives, and wonderful natural beauty, including forests, lakes and lawns. 

Fell’s Point is mostly a seamen’s resort, and a place of manufacturing and ship¬ 
building. This is a leading industry, and the great yards send out many vessels over 
the rolling Chesapeake, and past Fort McHenry. It was during an unsuccessful bom¬ 
bardment of this defense by the British in 1814, that Francis Scott Key, an American 
prisoner on one of the English ships, composed our national hymn of “ Star Spangled 
Banner.” Baltimore supplies the country with a large amount of iron manufactures, 


402 


Cities of the JJ'or/d. 


wool, copper, cotton, pottery and farming tools, and does considerable sugar-refining, 
distilling, tanning and saddle-making. There is no better brick clay in the world than 
that found near the city, and more than a hundred million bricks are made here and 
sold every year. The largest iron rolling mills in the United States are the Abbott works 
in the eastern section. 

Washington, our country’s capital, although not a large, is the finest built city 
in the Union. It stands, with its spacious avenues and fine broad streets, where the 
Potomac River receives the waters of the Eastern Branch, and takes its course south¬ 
ward between Maryland and Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay. General Washington 
chose the site of this undulating plateau forty feet above the broad Potomac, and he 
supervised the planning of-the city, which was named, not by him, but after him by the 



THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON. 


nation. He called it the Federal City. The plan was laid out after Versailles by a 
French engineer, the design being first of broad streets crossing each other at right 
angles and in regular order. The site of the capitol was then selected as the center 
from which eight broad avenues were laid radiating obliquely across the checker-board 
plan; then other squares and circles were marked out and selected as the radiating points 
for more oblique avenues, so that all parts of the capital should be in direct connection 
with each other. When the splendid plan was completed, and the streets laid out, it 
was a bare network, laughed at by foreigners and Americans, and Washington was de¬ 
risively called the “ City of magnificent distances.” But out forefathers had won a 















THE CAP-I-TOL AT \VASIMN(; I ON. 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































404 


Cities of the J\^07'ld. 

nation to themselves, and they were not daunted by the work of building up its capital; 
and now, in less than a century, the magnificent distances are those of well-paved tree- 
planted streets and avenues flanked by majestic buildings and filled with the gayest 
society in the country. The streets from north to south are numbered; those from east 
to west are lettered; and the twenty-one thoroughfares crossing these in different direc¬ 
tions are avenues named after various States. The chief point is the Capitol, which was 
described in 1800 as “on an eminence near the center of the immense country called ‘the 
citybut it is now approached from all directions by handsome avenues, most of which 
are well built up, while east and west, north and south, hundreds of squares are rapidly 
lifting their solid blocks of architecture toward the sky. The Capitol, standing on the 
summit of a terraced hill, is the most conspicuous building in the city. The beautifully 



THE SENATE CHAMBER, WASHINGTON. 


proportioned dome over the center raises its pure white head above the stately wings 
occupied by the two great legislative bodies of the nation. The Senate Chamber, in the 
center of the north wing, is plainly furnished, but the corridors and committee rooms are 
elaborately adorned. The marble stairway is most beautiful, and the long apartment 
in the rear is constructed of the richest varieties of marble; and near by are the splendid 
room for the President and the plainer one of the vice-president. The hall of the House 
of Representatives, in the south wing, is said to be the largest legislative chamber in the 
















405 


JVas/iinoio;i. 

o 

Avorld. The Supreme Court now sits in the old Senate Chamber, and in the fine old 
hall of the House there are statues of distinguished men of the several States. The 
Library of Congress is in the western projection of the central building, and the dome 
is covered with magnificent painting. A copy of every copyrighted publication in the 
country is sent to the library, and it has now become very much overcrowded. Penn¬ 
sylvania Avenue, the busiest, the finest and most fashionable in town, leads through the 
principal business quarters ^on the west to the President’s mansion. This is built of 
freestone with a semicircle of Ionic columns on the south, and a great colonnaded portico 
on the north. 

The British troops set fire to it in 1814, and made its walls black and unsightly; 
but they were painted over, and from that time the Executive Mansion has been called the 
White House. The rooms are most handsomely furnished; some of them are named 
after the color of their fittings. Twenty acres of ground around it are enclosed and 
handsomely laid out. The massive building of the United States Treasury faces the 
White House on the east, and on the west stands the granite structure devoted to the 
State, War, and Navy Departments. The Patent Office, the Post Office, and the City 
Hall, are between the Capitol and the President’s House, above Pennsylvania Avenue; 
while the Smithsonian Institute, one of the greatest adornments to the city, and con¬ 
taining the finest natural history museum in the country, is situated below “The Avenue,’’ 
as it is called, and near the National Museum and the Agricultural Department. This 
is a brick and brown-stone hall, with greenhouses, graperies and grounds for agricultural 
experiments that cover ten acres. Somewhat west of it, near the bank of the Potomac, 
on a line directly west of the Capitol and south of the Executive Mansion, is the great 
marble shaft of the Washington Monument. This is in the form of an obelisk, fifty- 
five feet square at the base, thirty-four feet square at the top, with an apex above that 
is shaped like a pyramid, and comes to a point five hundred and fifty-five feet above the 
base. The outside is all of marble blocks held together by mason-work, while there 
are a great many iron clamps and braces, and a whole network of stays inside to support 
it. An iron staircase and an elevator lead to the top, where there is a most extensive 
view over the District of Columbia, the river and the surrounding country. It is a 
magnificent and fitting monument to the man who was chief general in our war for in¬ 
dependence, and the first President of our newly formed Union. The inside of the shaft 
is set with about a hundred blocks of stone which have been presented as a tribute to 
Washington’s memory, from nearly every nation of the earth. The United States 
National Observatory is further up on the river bank between Washington and George¬ 
town. From the flagstaff on the dome of the principal building a signal ball is dropped 
every day at noon, sending the time instantly by telegraph to all parts of the United 
States. 

Eastern City, as the section on the other side of the Capitol is called, is less pre- 



4o6 


Cities of the World. 


tentiously built up than the western side. There are many residences here; and in the 
southern part the marine barracks and Navy Yard occupy a large section. The Arsenal 
is situated on a little square peninsula south of the Capitol, at the point where the two 
streams come together. There are many statues and other pieces of sculpture in various 
squares and open circles; but the chief attractions in art are in the Corcoran Gallery, 
which was founded by Mr. W. W. Corcoran, a wealthy Washington banker, who also 
built the Louise Home for poor gentlewomen. The benevolent institutions, the schools, 
colleges, institutes and public city buildings are very many, and are as well managed as 
they are finely built. The population is about a hundred and fifty thousand, made up 
of people of leisure, of merchants and tradesmen, of government employees, of negroes 



POST OFFICE AND CUSTOM HOUSE, CHICAGO, 


and many others. The climate in winter is very fine, and as soon as Congress opens 
the already large number of people in the city is greatly increased; and, from then until 
the warm season there is no place in the United States, unless it is New York, that is. 
so full of life and gayety. The places of amusement are all open; brilliant receptions 
are given, and some of the most beautiful private houses in the country are opened to 
parties and fashionable dinners. 

The great city west of the Atlantic seaboard is Chicago; it is the metropolis of the 
lakes and the center of trade and travel between the East and the West. It is on a 
made harbor at the southwestern end of Lake Michigan, on the two branches of the 
Chicago River. These divide the city into three divisions, known as the Northern, the 






Chicago. 


40; 


Southern, and the Western. The southern stream is connected by canal with the 
Illinois River at La Salle, Wisconsin, making a direct water communication with the 



MICHIGAN AVENUE AND JACKSON STREET, CHICAGO. 

Mississippi. The harbor on the lake is protected by magnificent lines of breakwater,, 
within which there is a large space for extensive ship-channels and docks. The lake 






4 o 8 Cities of the World. 

frontage of the city is about eight miles; and its whole area is thirty-five square miles. 
The river channels have been so deepened that the current was reversed, and the Lake 
Michigan waters flow into them. This improved the navigation very much, and carries 
off the city sewage toward the Illinois River at the rate of a mile an hour. The people 



CENTRAL MUSIC HALL, STATE AND RANDOLPH STREETS, CHICAGO. 


suffered many attacks of fever from the low marshy situation of the city, so at about the 
time of the river improvements the level of the city was raised by one of the most skillful 
pieces of engineering that was ever tried. Block after block of heavy buildings, in¬ 
cluding some of the largest hotels and stores, were raised from eight to ten feet by jack- 
screws, worked by steam power. Its lowest grade is now fourteen feet above the lake. 
Chicago is regularly laid out; the principal avenues run parallel with Michigan’s 























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410 


Cities of the World. 




shore, the streets are generally eighty feet 
wide, and some of them are from three to- 
seven miles long; the paving is often of 
wood, cinders or gravel; for stone is very 
scarce. The various divisions are connect¬ 
ed by several bridges, and a stone tunnel 
under the bed of each river; street-cars run 
this way and that in almost every direction. 
The business part of town is mainly in the 
southern division, or the South Side; and 
here, too, are the chief public buildings, the 
hotels and retail stores. Within a space of 
about ten blocks square nearly all the whole¬ 
sale business and a large part of the retail 
trade is carried on. South Water Street, 
which lies next to, and parallel with the 
main branch of Chicago River, is the seat of 
the commission business. Trucks, vans and 
LAS.-VLLE STREET TUNNEL, CHICAGO. carts throng the roadway, and boxes of pro¬ 

duce from garden, orchard, field and stream, 
block the sidewalk. State Street is the great 
shopping thoroughfare, and on any fair after¬ 
noon pedestrians and carriages fill it with a gay 
throng of the wealthiest and most beautiful 
ladies in the great Illinois capital. Michigan 
Avenue, Wabash Avenue and State Street, are 
all given up to wholesale houses near the river, 
but further up their character changes. The 
first becomes Michigan Avenue Boulevard, lined 
with some beautiful and picturesque city man¬ 
sions. The County Court House and City Hall 
is a massive and elaborate building. It occu¬ 
pies a large block in the heart of South Side, 
towering in majestic proportions and handsome 
diversified stories of buttresses, colonnades, and 
caryatides far above the bustling streets w’here 
men rush up and down in haste, and all kinds 
of vehicles go tearing by. Another imposing 

structure is the brick and stone work of the wabash avenue and madison street. 




























Chicago. 41 r 

Criminal Court and County Jail, but even this cannot compare with the Government 
Buildings, as the Post Office and Custom House is called. This cost six million dol¬ 
lars. The Post Office occupies the basement and the first floor, in the center of which 
there is an immense court, covered with a great sky-light at the second floor, and 
open above. The upper stories are fitted up as government offices. The interior 
of the whole building is very richly finished. The floors are all laid with black and 
white marble. The grand staircases in the north and south halls are of artistic iron 



CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING; JACKSON, PACIFIC AND SHERMAN STREETS. 

work, with steps laid in small parti-colored tiles. All the street railways start from this 
part of town, and radiate toward all the well-built-up quarters. The great East and 
West street is Madison; it is splendidly paved and lined with wholesale and retail es¬ 
tablishments in the eastern portion, which is in South Division; and in the West Side it 
is the principal retail street. The street extends westward from the lake till it is finally 
lost in a rough roadway of the open prairie. The West Side is the chief manufacturing 







412 


Cities of the 11 or lei. 

district, here are nearly all the great machinery shops, steam-engine works and boiler 
factories. There are hundreds of Irish, German and other foreign shop dealers here, 
and blocks of dingy wooden houses that escaped the great fire. Milwaukee Avenue is 
almost wholly occupied by Germans, and the poor-looking buildings here, like the people, 



CHIC.AGO TRIBUNE BUILDING; MADISON AND DEARBORN STREETS. 

have a foreign appearance. Street cars crossing this part of the West Side lead directly 
to the Union Stock Yards. This is the center of the greatest live stock trade in the 
world. The yards comprise a large tract partly covered by sheds and pens, and having 




























Chicago. 

o 


413 



stable-room enough for fifteen hundred horses, in all two hundred and forty thousand 
head of stock can be accommodated within this tract. All important railroads that 
enter Chicago have connections here, and the company has a hundred miles of track, in¬ 
cluding switches, to aid in the ship¬ 
ment of stock. Telegraph, post and 
banking offices are right at hand, and 
in the immediate vicinity there are 
over thirty extensive packing houses. 

The offices of the company and of the 
numerous firms engaged in the live¬ 
stock trade, are in the building known 
as Exchange Hall. There is a better 
portion of the West Side, where there 
are fine dwellings, churches and lines 
of shade trees, interspersed with bright 
little parks; and so it is with North 
Side; the streets lying near the river 
are crowded with busy working peo¬ 
ple, with factories and commission 
houses in hides, and leathers and 
wool; with a foreign population chiefly 
Scandinavian and German; and fur¬ 
ther up, proud mansions and artistic 
little houses fill the avenues and 
streets. These houses are better built 
than a great many in the city; they 
are of red pressed brick and of stone, 
varying in color and style, so that 
there is no appearance of sameness; 
the houses are built separately, not in 
blocks. Although the “divisions” 
are but parts of the one great city, 
there is considerable rivalry among 
them, which has its good results as north side water works tower, Chicago. 
well as othenvise. 

Beside the small green squares scattered plentifully throughout the interior of the 
city, there is a magnificent system of parks and boulevards almost encircling it on the 
outskirts. This is a chain of parks named after great men. On the North Side, it 
begins with Lincoln Park; on tne West Side, lie Humboldt, Garfield and Douglas 



















414 


Cities of the Uhrld. 


Parks, and, completing the crescent, are Washington, Jackson and Gage Parks, and 
midway, Pleasance, just outside the city limits on South Side. This circlet of pleasure 
grounds and pleasant breathing places is linked together by boulevards, gradually being 
occupied by handsome grounds and stately architecture. Most of the boulevards are 
bordered with magnificent elms set in grassy strips between the sidewalks and the curbing. 
The oldest and best known of the parks is Lincoln, which stretches along the lake shore 
for about a mile and a half on the North Side. It covers two hundred and fifty acres, and 
is full of beauty and variety, with an infinite number of fine drives and promenades, 



PALMER house; STATE AND MONROE STREETS, CHICAGO. 


with a view of Lake Michigan and two good sized artificial lakes in the interior for 
boating and skating. The zoological gardens have, beside the collection of im¬ 
ported animals, some fine specimens of prairie dogs, buffaloes and wolves from the 
western prairie, that are highly interesting to boys and girls from the East. Humboldt 
Park is further north than any other, and although it is a little smaller and is not so 
great a popular resort as Lincoln, it is in another way most delightful. Groups of trees 
show between lawns and meadows made out of the open prairie, and border lovely lakes 
dotted with boats and overlooked by gay pavilions. The center of attraction in Garfield 
Park are the medicinal waters of the artesian well. Each of these pleasure grounds has 
its own attractiveness and beauty. All have delightful walks and drives, shady groves 











SL Louis. 


415 


■and many other devices to afford rest and pleasure to the people of the great busy city. 
The population is growing very fast, and rivals New York in its energy and push. Fine 
public improvements are being carried on all the time; the schools, colleges and special 
institutes are some of the best in the country. Chicago has about six hundred thousand 
people—as many as Brooklyn, New York. 

Next to it, with about one thousand less, comes St. Louis in Missouri. It is 
the chief city and commercial depot of the central Mississippi valley; made up of 
an old town and a new, it is finely situated on the Father of Waters, a mile below 



CUSTOM HOUSE AND POST OFFICE, ST. LOUIS. 


the entrance of the Missouri. There was a great fire in 1849, ^^at destroyed many of 
the wooden buildings of the old town near the river, and as the rebuilding was done 
chiefly in limestone the narrow, crooked streets entirely used for trade have a very sub¬ 
stantial appearance. 

Every city has its characteristics, and its common features. St. Louis’ peculiar 
characteristic is the river, with its eighteen miles of commercial frontage, lined with 
boats and smoking with mills and foundries, and its magnificent levee. This is a very 
wide space paved with Belgian blocks, and a gradual incline sloping to the water. Here 





4i6 


Cities of the World. 


enormous quantities of all kinds of goods are landed and given temporary storeroom, 
or shipped to all the important places along six thousand miles of navigable waters, 
with which the city is in direct communication. There are no regular wharves on the 
levee, but bridges run out to landing stages moored a short distance off, so as to rise 
and fall with the tide. Front street, extending along the levee, is full of trucks and 
produce wagons, laborers, porters and a constant throng of working people. The 



COURT HOUSE, ST. LOUIS. 


levee is packed with bags and bales, wagons and kegs, and the wagons that transport 
them. Alongside lie the boats,—side-wheelers and stern-wheelers, packets, barges, 
tugs, flat-boats and dredge-boats; most of them built with many decks, like floating 
pavilions. Up stream there are two great brick German breweries, and countless mills 
and foundries, making a little village of themselves, with a host of small shops and poor 
dwellings. 

The streets are numbered west frorh the levee, and mount a steady rise of ground 









































SL Louis. 


417 



back from the river. Fourth Street is lined with large, handsome stores, and here the 
greatest retail trade is carried on and the most interesting, gay crowds of people are to 
be seen. The roadway is crowded, and through it the cars of two horse railways are 
constantly running. Some of the great hotels are here. Others stand among the large 
wholesale establishments of Fifth Street, along with the Olympic theater, the Si. Louis 
Times building. Mercantile Library Hall, Union Market and the Round Top Market. 
The city is divided into northern and southern St. Louis by Market Street, one of the 


LINDELL HOTEL, ST. LOUIS. 

busiest of the trade streets, and the location of the best public buildings. Here is the 
massive, dignified Court House, on whose classical looking steps slaves were once sold 
at auction; the Grand Opera House, City Hall, and other notable structures, built for 
the most part of a beautiful soft gray colored limestone or a red sandstone, which give 
the city streets a gay and also a tasteful, artistic appearance. Washington Avenue leads 
to the Bridge, through lines of large wholesale houses and palatial residences. Here, 
too, are the Lindell and several other large hotels, the Catholic University, Smith’s 
Academy, Washington University, and churches, hospitals, club-houses, and other note¬ 
worthy places. It has been said that more good buildings can be seen from about the 
27 


























418 Cities of the Jl^orld. 

corners of Fourth or Fifth street and Washington Avenue than anpvhere else They 
iire five-storied, substantial, and in some cases beautifully ornamented. The bridge is 


about two thousand and fifty feet long, without counting the approaches, and is one of 
Captain Eads’ great pieces of engineering. Its great arches span the waters to the is- 


FOURTH ST. LOOKING NORTH FROM CHESTNUT. 
















SL Louis. 


419 


land now called East St. Louis, where there are many extensive store-houses and depots. 
The view of stream and city from the bridge is extensive and full of life and variety. 
The city is seen to rise gently from the water in three terraces. The dense commercial 
quarters first, then the fine thoroughfares and stately buildings belonging to general 
trade and public works, creeping up to the clusters of residences which occupy the last 
terrace in the handsome surburb of Cote Brilliante. This is about two hundred feet 
high and four miles back. The streets going westward up this rise between Washington 



REPUBLICAN BUILDING, ST. LOUIS. 


Avenue on the north and Pine Street on the south, are built up with comfortable dwell¬ 
ings, while on some of the cross avenues the mansions are quite elegant in appearance. 
But on the whole St. Louis houses show more of a desire for comfort than elegance, 
which is a characteristic of the Germans at home or abroad. This is one of the largest 
German cities of the West, and in summer-time looks very much like a transplanted city 
of the Fatherland. The bridge is crowded with promenaders; open-air gardens are 
■opened and summer theaters, decorated with plants, and furnished with music and re¬ 
freshments. The sidewalks in front of the principal restaurants are filled with groups 












420 


Cities of the World. 



they chat, sip refreshments and enjoy them¬ 
selves till their rooms have cooled and they 
can go home and pass a comfortable night. 

Among the regular resorts about the 
city, the Fair Grounds—a beautiful park 
and zoological garden—always has a large, 
gay crowd, especially during the Fair week. 
Forest Park is a tract of nearly fifteen hun¬ 
dred acres of wooded rural ground, and 
beyond it is Shaw’s Garden. This is open 
to the public by the generosity of Mr. 
Henry Shaw, to whose private domain this 
lovely stretch of flower-beds, conservato¬ 
ries, rare trees and valuable plants, with a 
museum and botanical library belong; the 
Lower Grove, a long handsome strip of 
land adjoining, Mr. Shaw has presented to 
the city. Lafayette Park is a square about 
as large and of much the same sort as 
Boston Common, surrounded by aristocratic 
houses. Beside its immense water facilities, 
St. Louis is the center for sixteen lines of 
railway, some of them being the main roads 
of the country. The chief use of these 
roads is for shipment of the articles manu¬ 
factured in the city. New York and Phila¬ 
delphia are the only places in America that 
produce greater quantities of general arti- 


of .people gathered around little tables; 


OPERA HOUSE, ST. LOUIS. 



cles; and in flour-making St. Louis 
leads the whole country. 

Cincinnati, on the Ohio 
River, and the chief city of the 
State of Ohio, is a famous place for 
pork. “ Porkopolis,” or city of pork, 
it is sometimes called, as the killing 
and packing of hogs is the chief 
business. Nearly a million are 
killed every year—more than in any other place except Chicago. There are great fact¬ 
ories of other things too, especially for beer making. Most of the breweries are in a 


































Cleveland. 


421 

part of the city called “ Over the Rhine,” inhabited almost entirely by Germans. The 
population of Cincinnati is about the same as St. Louis, and one quarter of the people 
are Germans. The city is surrounded by beautiful hills, and the river flowing by it is 
crossed by two fine bridges. The plan of the streets and squares is much like that of 
Philadelphia; the roads are usually paved or macadamized, planted with trees, and sub¬ 
stantially built up with brick. 



SOUTHERN HOTEL, ST. LOUIS. 


Next to the Porkopolis of Ohio is the Forest City of Cleveland. It has a popula¬ 
tion of about a hundred and seventy-five thousand people, whose interest is centered 
chiefly in the great petroleum refineries, or in commercial and other business brought over 
Lake Erie, and extending up the Cuyahoga River, which empties here. Cleveland is 
one of the best ports on the lake; the trade in coal, iron ore, petroleum and grain being 
very large; and the river supplies water power for factories for making sulphuric acid, 
railroad cars, farmers’ tools and other valuable articles of shipment. The center of the 
regular lines of tree-lined streets crossing at right angles is Monumental Park, beauti¬ 
fully shaded and carefully kept. The handsomest portion of town is on the high sandy 







































422 


Cities of the J For id. 

bluff on the east side of the river. On the other bank there is another fine park called 
the Circle; this has a beautiful fountain in the center. The public improvements, 
charitable institutions and city buildings, schools and churches of Cleveland are of re¬ 
markable excellence. 

Next in population among western cities is Louisville, Kentucky, of about a 
hundred and fifty thousand. It is the largest city of the State, and nearly the size of 
Newark, New Jersey, and like it, rests on a plain, with hills in the background and a 
river—the Ohio—in front. The stream on which Louisville stands, is here broken into 
rapids, making a fine water power, that is as yet little used. An important business is 
sugar-curing hams and pork packing, while no place in the world has such quantities of 



THE ST. LOUIS BRIDGE. 


leaf-tobacco as are brought in and shipped from here to Germany, France, England, 
Canada and different parts of the United States. 

The best harbor on any of the great lakes is at Detroit, Michigan. This is part 
of the Detroit River, which receives the waters of Lake St. Clair above, and empties into 
Lake Erie, eighteen miles below. The river is very deep and broad here, and the city 
—the largest in Michigan—extends along its banks for six or seven miles. The water 
front is crowded with warehouses, mills, foundries, grain elevators, railway stations, ship¬ 
yards and dry docks, telling you at first glance what branches of trade bring wealth to 
the people who live here. The shipping interests are mostly with United States ports 
on the Lakes and with Canada, which lies on the other shore of the river. Detroit is a 
great northern railway center and transfer station, and one of our most important 
lumber markets. The streets are remarkably broad, the business houses are solid and u 









^^ilwa^lkee. 


imposing, and some of the dwellings, surrounded by gardens and shaded by trees, are 
elegant and costly. A very large part of the population, which is about a hundred and 
twenty-five thousand, are foreigners, chiefly Germans. 

A port of about the same size and importance on Lake Michigan is Milkauwee, 
the largest city in Wisconsin. The harbor and town are always full of life and activity, 
especially around the wharves and the grain and flour warehouses. This is the greatest 
wheat market in the world, and is the port of shipment for the agricultural products of 
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The business center is in the heart of the city along 



GOLDEN GATE, SAN FRANCISCO. 


the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers. The Milwaukee gives excellent water power 
for manufacturing; the mills are situated on a ship canal running alongside, and their 
wares are loaded directly into the lake-going steamers. Iron and rolling mills are the 
most numerous and important; after them come extensive flour mills, breweries and 
tanneries. The higher parts on the east and west are occupied by dwelling houses. 
Nearly all the buildings are of cream-colored brick, manufactured in the neighborhood. 
This makes the most ordinary parts of the city look handsome; while the Court-house 
of sandstone, the Custom-house and the Post-office both of marble, and some others of 
the more pretentious buildings are really elegant. 












424 


Cities of tJic U^ortd. 


The metropolis of North America’s Pacific slope is San Francisco. It is the capi¬ 
tal and largest city in California, with one of the finest and most beautiful harbors in 
the world. The entrance from the ocean is through a passage about a mile wide, called 
the Golden Gate. This is between the long peninsula occupied by the city and an arm 
of land that runs down on the north; together these form the barrier separating the 



NOB HILL, SAN FRANCISCO. 

open sea from the river mouths that form the bay. San Francisco owes its importance 
to this harbor, which is visited by hundreds of ships from the Oriental countries, from 
Europe, and ports on both sides the American continent. The foreign trade is very 
large. The principal things sent out are grain, flour, wool, wines and quicksilver; the 
chief imports are tea from China, lumber from Oregon, coal from Australia, Van¬ 
couver’s Island and England, and sugar, rice and coffee from various countries. There 
is also a very great trade by the Pacific Railroad, which has its western end near the 
city. The plan of these great overland railways, binding the Union from ocean to ocean, 
and connecting the interests of all our States, was laid here at the times when acts of 
secession were passed at the opposite seaboard. Many of the great mines of California and 
Nevada are owned by San Francisco merchants,some of whom are among the richest men in 



















the world. The city of ’Frisco, 
as it is often called, occupies the 
peninsula that lies between the 
harbor and the sea, which was 
barren and rocky, but has been 
levelled and improved by much 
skill and great expense. The 
streets are laid out in regular 
squares, closely built up in the 
business portion, but quite 
scattered in other places. The 
fashionable promenades are 
lined with the leading retail 
stores; and in about a dozen 
streets the buildings are re¬ 
markably fine and substantial, 
but in other quarters the arch¬ 
itecture is of wood, sometimes 
lavishly ornamented. Every¬ 
thing has a brisk, prosperous 
appearance, and the people are 
full of energy and push. There 
are no shade trees, but the 
yards around the better houses 
are quite gorgeous in flowers 
and evergreens. A great many 
of the people, even in families, 
live at the hotels. So there are 
a great many very fine estab¬ 
lishments throughout the city. 
The Palace Hotel is said to be 
the largest and one of the most 
magnificent in the world, and 
many others are both stately in 
appearance and luxuriously ar¬ 
ranged. The most interesting 
quarter of the city is Chinatown. 
Here twenty thousand China- 


Sa 7 i Francisco. 425 



CHINESE QUARTER, SAN FRANCISCO. 
















426 


Cities of the World. ' 


men are crowded into a limited space, and live as they do at home. Their national 
customs have all been imported, from every-day living with chop-sticks for knife and 
fork, to the pagoda-like theaters and joss-houses, with opium dens and gambling 
houses. 

This is an important flour market; large exports are made of tobacco and other 
products, and immense numbers of oysters from the Chesapeake are carried here and 
shipped to all parts of the world. 

The chief city of the lower Mississippi, and our main port for the Gulf of Mexico, 
is New Orleans, once capital of Louisiana. In size and population it is the ninth city 
of the Union, but in the value of its exports and foreign commerce, it comes next to 
New York. It comprises about forty square miles; but one half of these is little better 



CITY HALL, SAN FRANCISCO. 

than a swamp; the other half is closely inhabited. There are altogether about two 
hundred and fifty thousand people here, a mingled gathering of Americans and Germans, 
French, Italians, Spanish and Irish. Most of the streets running parallel to the river 
extend for about twelve miles in unbroken lines; while the cross streets run at right 
angles to. these from the river to the lake. Those in the new parts are wide, bordered 
with trees, and Canal Street has many handsome stores and dwellings. As New Orleans 
is built on rather a long, narrow strip along the curves of the river, it has an S shape; but 
at one time it was only extensive enough to follow the outer curYe, from which it re¬ 
ceived the name of the Crescent City. The streets have ditches running through them, 
by which the drainage is carried off in the freshet season; but they are unsightly, and it 
is said, unhealthful at all other times. There are, beside these, a number of canals for 
business use in the city connecting with some of the fifteen markets. There is more 
cotton sold here than in any other city in America, and very extensive trade is also 
carried on in sugar and rice. The wharv'es at the river levee are always crowded with. 







N^cw O 7 'leans. 


427 


cotton brought from all parts of the Lower Mississippi Valley, where it is packed into 
bales by great presses, and loaded on vessels to be sent to Europe and the Northern 
States. Sugar is stored in immense sugar-sheds, where it is heaped up like coal in a 
coal yard. Between Christmas and Lent the greatest carnival in the United States is 



NEW ORLEANS. 


held here. The grand procession takes place on Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday, when 
hundreds of people, dressed to look like animals, goblins and all sorts of fantastic 
creatures, march through the streets with music and torches, and setting off fire-works 
as they go along. Beside this, the festival is kept up in balls, parties, concerts and 
other masqueradings outdoors and in. 




























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Cities of the Ancient World 

















CONTENTS 


Italy :— 

Rome 

Ostia 

Capua 

Tarentum 

Cumae 

Crotona 

Sybaris 

Mantua 

Arpinum 

Asia Minor :— 

Tarsus . 

Troy, or Ilium 

Ephesus 

Smyrna 

Sardis 

Miletus 

Halicarnassus, or Zephyria 

Comana 

Pergamus 

Ancyra 

Putara . 

Greece :— 

Athens 
Piraeus . 

Corinth 

Mycenae 

Sparta 


PAGE 

7 

48 

48 

50 

51 

54 

54 

55 

56 

■ 59 
61 
66 
68 
68 

69 

70 

71 

71 

72 
72 

75 
116 
118 
121 

125 

















Co 7 itenis, 


• PAGE 

Egyptian Cities of the Nile :— 

Memphis ........ 130 

Thebes ......... 140 

Tanis ......... 147 

Heroopolis ......... 149 

Pelusium . . ..... 149 

Heliopolis, or On . . .... 150 

Bubastis . . . . . . . . 150 

Sais . . . . . . . . .152 

Alexandria . . . . . . . . 154 

Colonies and Islands of the Mediterranean Sea :— 

Rhodes . . . . . . . . .163 

Carthage ........ 164 

Agrigentum . . . . . . . .172 

Syracuse . . . . . . . . 173 

Arabia ;— 

Mareb . . . . . . . . .177 

Aden 181 

Arem ......... 182 

Ocadh ......... 183 

Petra ......... 184 

Bozrah ......... 187 

Persia :— 

Pasargadae . . . . . . . . .190 

Persepolis . . . . . . . . 194 

Lower Ecbatana . . . . . . . .199 

Agabatana . . . . . . . . 199 

Northern Ecbatana ....... 201 

Raga, or Rhages ....... 202 

Bagistan ......... 203 

Syria :— 

Damascus ........ 204 

Samaria . . . . .-. . . .210 

Gaza . . . . . . . . . 211 

Antioch . . . . . . . . .212 

Palmyra . . . . . . . ' . 216 

Baalbec ......... 220 

Aleppo ......... 222 















C 071 tents. 


Syria:— 

Beroea 

Jerusalem 

Joppa 

Tyre 

Sidon 

Csesarea 

Mesopotamia:— 
Nineveh 
Asshur . 
Khorsabad . 
Babylon 


PAGE 


222 

222 

231 

232 

234 

238 

240 

242 

242 

249 












LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Italy :— 

The Roman Eagle .... 7 

Roman Forum. 9 

Augustus.13 

The Appian Way.15 

Interior of the Pantheon ... 21 

Julius Caesar.23 

Roman Villa.27 

Nero.29 

Macenaes.31 

Baths of Caracalla.33 

Coliseum.36 

Interior of a Roman House . . 39 

Roman Garden Scene ... 42 

Roman and Toga.43 

Roman Matron.44 

Arch of Constantine .... 45 

Constantine the Great ... 47 

Virgil.52 

Cicero.56 

Roman Consul.57 

Cleopatra’s Journey .... 61 

The Laocoon.63 

Homer.67 

Roman Types and Costumes . 69 

Greece :— 

Types and Costumes .... 73 


PAGE 


Greece:— 

Acropolis of Athens .... 77 

Interior of the Parthenon . . 83 

Market of Athens, or Agora . 89 

Themistocles.91 

Pericles.93 

Athens from the East .... 95 

Demosthenes.99 

Parthenon at the time of Pericles loi 
Greek Male Heads . . . . 103 

Greek Female Heads .... 105 

Street of Tombs, Athens ... 107 

Lysicrates’ Monument . . . 109 

Socrates.111 

Piraeus, the Port of Athens . . 113 

Mycenae.119 

Sparta.123 

Market place, Sparta . . . . 127 

Miltiades. 129 

Egypt:— 

Ancient Vase.131 

Gallery in the Cheops Pyramid . 133 

Temple of Isis.135 

The Rock Temple.137 

Mummy and Coffin . . . . 139 

Statue of Amenophis . . . . 141 

Sphinx at Karnac.143 
































Ilhish'ations. 


PAGE 

Egypt:— 

Interior of the Burial Temple at 


Karnac.147 

Bust of Rameses II.149 

Ancient Coins.151 

Types and Costumes .... 151 

Water Carriers.153 

Light House, Alexandria . . 155 

Old Alexandria.157 

Cleopatra’s Needle .... 159 

The Great Pyramid . . . . 161 

Types and Costumes . . . . 161 

Colonies and Islands of the Medi¬ 
terranean Sea :— 

Alexander the Great . . . . 165 

Medal of Alexander the Great . 167 

Hannibal.171 

Patmos.175 

Arabia :— 

Types and Costumes . . . . 179 

Persia :— 

Types and Costumes . . . . 191 

Hall of Xerxes in Persepolis . 195 

Rock Grave of Darius . . . 197 

Syria :— 

Damascus.205 


Syrian Types and Costumes . 207 

Bridge of Jacob’s Daughters . 209 

Ancient Aqueduct.211 

Antioch.213 

Syrian Seaport.215 

Great Colonnade, Palmyra . . 217 

Temple at Baalbec . . . . 219 

A Fallen Pillar.221 

Bethlehem.223 

Mountains of Moab . . . . 225 

The Moabite Stone .... 227 

Cedars of Lebanon .... 229 

Solomon’s Pools, near Jerusalem 231 
Valley of Shechem .... 233 

Sidon.235 

Ancient City Gate.237 

Valley of Jehosaphat .... 239 

Mesopotamia:^— 

Nineveh Portal Figure . . .• 241 

Assyrian Types and Costumes . 244 

Soldier.245 

Assyrian Reliefs.246 

Antechamber of the Palace of an 

Assyrian King.247 

Nimrod.251 



















CITIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD. 


ITALY. 



O N the Seven Hills rising out of the fertile Italian Campagna bordering the broad, 
deep, flowing river Tiber, stood the queenly city of ancient Rome.* Round it 
ran the strong wall 
of Servius,with its great gates 
opening upon broad roads 
that threaded the entire Ital¬ 
ian peninsula, connecting the 
capital with other great cities 
of the country and uniting 
the provinces to Rome in 
political, commercial, and 
intellectual interests. They 
intersected the Campagna 
and led to the various sub¬ 
urbs, which in Rome’s palm¬ 
iest days were almost as fine¬ 
ly built up as the city itself. 

The mighty capital lay main¬ 
ly on the left or eastern side 
of “Father Tiber;’’ fine 
streets, circuses, and splen¬ 
did palaces stretched from 
the water’s edge to the 
heights of the Seven Hills, 
and lay in the valleys be¬ 
tween, the plains beyond, and crowned the surrounding elevations. The greatest 
magnificence and the largest e.xtent of Rome was reached at about the time Christ was 


*See description of Rome in “ Great Cities of the World. 


7 






Cities of the Ancient World. 


born, but for hundreds of years before then it was grand and powerful, the greatest city 
in all the known world, and the capital of the foremost nation of the age. It began as 
a small town on the Palatine Hill, we do not know exactly how or when; but it was about 
750 years before Christ. This first settlement is known in history as the City of Romulus, 
but scholars say nowadays that Romulus and his brother Remus never lived, and that 
there is no truth in the story about the wicked uncle throwing them into the Tiber, the 
wolf that nursed them, the herdsman that brought them up as his own sons, and their 
great prowess in restoring Alba Longa to their grandfather and building a city where 
the herdsman had found them. If all this pretty story is a legend, one thing is sure, 
that in some way the city was founded, and it was named Rome, although not perhaps 
by Romulus, after himself, but from a word meaning border or frontier, because the first 
settlement here was probably a frontier outpost. But as we do not know the real history 
of the foundation of the city, and the legend has been told for ages, it has become like 
a part of Roman history, and people give Romulus and his followers the credit of found¬ 
ing the city, which may have been built by some military tribe of Italy or an adjacent 
country. At any rate the earliest age of Rome is called after Romulus, just as the time 
when Elizabeth reigned in England is known as the Elizabethan Age. But when we 
read of what Romulus did, we must remember that probably Romulus did not do it at 
all, but that it was done in the time that the legends say he lived. The little “city of 
Romulus ’’ covered only the Palatine Hill, but it was surrounded by a wall having three 
gates, and soon became quite full of people. The wall was carried along the edge of 
the hill all round, and spaces were left clear of all buildings inside and also outside this 
enclosure, which was looked upon as holy ground, and was called the Pomoerium. This 
settlement of Romulus, the beginning of the great city, was also called Ro 7 na QuadratUy 
or Square Rome. The legends tell of Numa Pompilius and other kings that followed 
Romulus, and ruled over a fast-growing city of warlike people who made great conquests. 
Rome grew very rich, and spread its territory to the adjacent hills, where other tribes 
had founded cities. In the reign of Tarquinius Prisons great works of improve¬ 
ment were carried on; new streets and squares were laid out, and public buildings 
erected. 

Servius Tullius, who followed, continued the work of Tarquin, enlarged the Pomoe¬ 
rium, and built a new wall. This enclosed all of the famous Seven Hills with a line of 
mighty fortifications. These were of free-stone, with towers for watching and defense, 
like the ramparts of the Greeks. At short distances the wall was set with arches so as 
to give greater strength and firmness to the stonework, not for entrance, for they were 
compactly filed in; the gates were more massive and imposing structures, always locatetl 
in places where the land formed a natural protection, and made a convenient point of 
observation from within and a bold defense without. The entrances to Rome were 
sometimes wide massive structures of one, two, and three arches, as powerful in protec- 



THE ROMAN FORUM. 

































































































































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11 

tion as they were majestic in architecture. The city which the wall of Servius enclosed 
was somewhat like a fan, with the Capitoline Hill for its pivot. Toward this point a semi¬ 
circle of hills extends from the east. The most northerly is the Quirinal; then comes 
the A^imerial, and with the Esquiline on the east, the upper half of the crescent is com¬ 
pleted in a set of promontories, which further back stretch in a united plain eastward to an 
embankment, sixty feet high and fifty feet broad at its base, which was part of the 
fortification of Servius. On the southwest the ring of hills is continued by the Palatine, 
with the Coelian behind it; and due south of the Capitol the Aventine stands upon the 
brink of the river. On the plain of the Esquiline the fortifications and the embankment 
are here continued by the regular wall, which engirdled the Coelian and the Aventine, and 
continued over the river, enclosed a long narrow tract on the Janiculum. The Tiber 
made a sudden westward bend a little to the north, but changed its course to the south¬ 
east and back again in a serpentine trail till it was past the city. The westerly wall 
above the river bounds the Capitoline and the Quirinal Hills, and adjoins the earthworks 
at the upper end. Here was the Coelian Gate, the most northerly one in the city. Between 
the Quirinal and the bold curves of the river lay the Campus Martius, where the greater 
part of modern Rome stands. The whole circuit of Servius’s wall measured about 
seven mules. It stood without being altered for many centuries, while the city grew 
and grew, till her great suburbs extended far into the beautiful Campagna, and Rome 
without the walls was as great as Rome within. For a long time the fortifications were 
not needed, and were allowed to fall into decay, while the magnificent city literally had 
no bounds. It was in the third century after Christ that the Aurelian wall was built, which 
marks the present site of Rome old and new. Beside the Coelian Gate the principal 
entrances to the city through the wall of Servius Tullius were the Flumentane and the 
Carmental, on the west between the Capitol and the river; below these the Trigemina 
stood, between the Aventine and the river, and probably led to the Sublician Bridge, which 
Aneus had built to connect the city proper with Janiculum. On the southeast, between 
the Aventine and the Coelian, the Capene or Capuan Gate pierced the wall at the foot of 
the Coelian Hill, and through it the Appian Way led into the city. On the eastern side 
of the Coelian it was the Coelimontane Gate that led to the villa-built Campagna, and 
above it the Porta Esquilma opened on two roads that stretched across the plain. The 
Esquiline Gate stood at the foot of the earthworks, and is the last of the famous portcB 
through which conquering armies, mighty generals, valuable plunder and richly laden 
embassies passed for centuries to the glory and wealth of the Eternal City. 

The Capitoline Hill was as much the core of Roman life as it was pivot of the city 
plan. It was the smallest, the steepest, and the most famous of the hills, the citadel 
and sanctuary of the city. It was long known as the Hill of Saturn or Saturninus, until 
Tarquin chose one of the two peaks of the hill called Tarpeian for a magnificent temple, 
dedicated to the three great gods of the Latins and Etruscans, Jupiter, Juno, and 


12 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

Minerva; ever after this part of the hill was called the Capitol or Chief Place, while the 
upper part was the Arx or Citadel. The Tarpeian Rock was a steep precipice on the 
south-western side of the Capitoline, from which traitors were hurled. When enemies 
marched up to Rome, their first wish was to get their hold upon the citadel and the 
Capitol; so the Tarpeian Rock was usually the chief point of attack. In 460 b.c. the 
Sabine Herdonius scaled this cliff at the head of a band of slaves, and with them was 
killed by the Romans a few days later. 

There is another story told, that years after the Gauls climbed the rock, near the 
Carmental Gate, and had almost reached the summit when the cries of the sacred geese 
of Juno roused the officer Manlius, who rushed out and hurled the leader of the band 
down the precipice. He dragged others down in his fall, and so the Capitol was 
saved. In remembrance of this deliverance a goose was carried in triumph every year 
across the Capitoline Hill. Manlius was himself hurled from the rock afterward, having 
been condemned by the Patricians on the pretext that he wished to make himself king. 
The great Capitoline temple was a majestic building, in a commanding position on a plat¬ 
form, made by levelling the summit of the rock on the lower of the two Saturnian peaks. 
It was an immense and almost square edifice two hundred feet long, with three ranges of 
columns in front and a majestic single colonnade extending along each side. The por¬ 
tico was reached by a great flight of steps, and, like the interior, was adorned with the 
work of the greatest ancient sculptors. The pediment was covered with figures in relief, 
and on the roof were groups of statuary made of burnt clay. Within, the temple was 
divided into three apartments; in the centerwasa statue of Jupiter, made of terra cotta, 
and painted in the Etruscan style of art; the figure was clothed like a victorious Roman 
general, and held in his right hand a thunder-bolt, and in his left a spear. A gilt statue 
of Minerva occupied the cella at the right of Jupiter, and the figure of Juno stood at 
the left. Every year a nail was put in the wall adjoining the sanctuary of Minerva, to 
mark the lapse of time. In the center of the temple, which was open to the sky, there 
stood a statue of Terminius, the god of boundaries and landmarks. The gates of the 
temple were of gilt bronze, and the pavements were of rich mosaics. Here the greatest 
religious festivals were held, the triumphs celebrated, and the chief heroes of the battle¬ 
field were brought in a pompous procession to lay their trophies at the feet of the 
“ father of gods and men,” and to hold their banquets in the feast-hall beyond. The 
Capitoline temple was the chief of four hundred sanctuaries that graced the city. Close 
beside it stood the temple of Fides, and near by the twin temples of Mars and Venus, 
while that of Jupiter Tonans, or the god of thunder, was at a later day placed so near 
the great temple that it was considered a porch to the Capitol, and had some bells hung 
upon its pediment. Between the two heights of the Saturnian Hill was a level space 
called the Interniontium, where the Tabularium or Record Office stood, keeping sacred 
the archives of the city. This, in connection with the Treasury, was used as a library. 


Rome. 


n 



a place for lectures, and for some other special purposes. The Arx was also partially 
occupied by temples; and here in some of the earliest days of the city several altars to 
Jupiter and other deities stood with the gigantic statue to the “ greatest of gods,” made 
out of the armor taken from the Samnites. The Romans were a very religious people. 
The deities that we now read of as 
belonging to Roman mythology 
were their gods; to them they went 
for counsel and auguries, to whom 
they returned with trophies and 
rich booty as thanksgiving or peace 
offerings; they were believed to take 
on mortal form in aiding their 
favorite causes; but, though many of them were 
believed to have been mortals once, they were 
far above the people of earth as deities. So 
the Capitoline Hill was highly reverenced and 
strictly devoted to temples and matters of the 
sacred Roman state, which was as holy as the 
gods. Beneath the perpendicular brow of this 
hill was the Fontm Romanu 7 n, a long, rather 
narrow open space stretching way to the south¬ 
east, gradually decreasing in width to the ridge 
over six hundred feet away that is called the 
Velia, and which connects the Palatine Hill 
with the Esquiline, and where in the early part 
of the Christian Era the triumphal arch of 
Titus was set to commemorate the taking of 
Jerusalem. A forum in Rome was an open 
space for public meetings. The first meaning of 
the word was “open place,” but after the 
Romans gave it to the city squares they set 
apart for markets and courts of justice, it came 
to have about the meaning of business center, 
or exchange. There were several such places 
in Rome, but this was the only one that was Augustus. 

called “ the Forum,” without any other name to 

distinguish it. This was the center of Rome in its glory, and the core of its life when 
it contained two million people. 

At the foot of the Capitol, where it measured nearly two hundred feet across, stood 





14 


Cities of the Ancient J Tor id. 

the magnificent triumphal arch of Septimius Severus. In the days of the Roman Repub¬ 
lic (which lasted during nearly five hundred years before the birth of Christ), and of the 
Empire (which followed and lasted about the same time), for something like a thousand 
years from 500 b.c. to 500 a.d., when Rome fell and the Middle Ages began, the Eternal 
City was continually being built and rebuilt with monuments of honor. One of the 
chief among these was the Arch of Septimius Severus, erected by the Senate in 205 a.d. 
It was placed in one of the finest spots in the great city, and reared its grand arches in 
elegant proportions at the head of the Forum, and the foot of the Capitol; upon its 
faces bas-reliefs depicted the victories of Severus in the east, his entry into Babylon, 
and the tower of the temple of Belus, while legends read to his renown and that of his 
two sons, Caracalla and Geta. In one of the piers is a staircase leading to the top of 
the arch, upon which stood a car drawn by six horses abreast, and containing figures of 
Severus and his sons. The statue of Marcus Aurelius, now in the Capitol, stood in 
front of the arch, and on all sides there were columns, statues, temples and basilicas, for 
the Forum was the grandest as well as the liveliest part of the city. 

The Forum was established some time after the alliance of the cities of the Romans 
on the Palatine and the Sabines on the Saturnian, it being a convenient place be¬ 
tween the two hills where the colonies could meet on neutral ground; it was then 
surrounded by marshes with the Curtain- Lake in the midst of the valley. When 
the city became entirely united the ground was drained, paved, regularly laid out and 
bounded by broad streets. For about four hundred feet from the foot of the Capi- 
toline Hill the great oblong was the Forum proper, while the remaining length of 
two hundred feet, gradually diminishing in width, was occupied by the Comitium. 
Here the assemblies of the Senate were held and the destinies of the world dis¬ 
cussed; here the great and the lowly met every day, and trivial matters as well as 
great were talked over and settled. It was adorned with the most beautiful monu¬ 
ments and surrounded by the finest streets in the city. A two-storied portico 
encompassed it, in which shops or tabenic^ occupied the first floor; and along its 
sides basilicas and temples were raised one after another. In the Comitium the twelve 
tables of the Romans, which are considered the foundation of all law, were hung up, 
and the fasti alsOj written on white tables, informed the citizens when the law-courts 
were open. 

On the right or lower side of the Forum there was a large and stately structure, 
known as the Basilica Julia, used partially as a law court and partly as an exchange. 
Here the judges of the empire, called Centumviri, held their courts, which were four in 
number; and on its roof the mad Caligula used to stand and throw money into the 
Forum for the pleasure of seeing the people scramble after it. At the corner of the 
basilica the Arch of Tiberius is believed to have stood. Beyond this site was the mag¬ 
nificent and very ancient temple of Castor and Pollux, where costly sacrifices were 



THE APPIAN WAY. NEAR ROME 







































































































































































































































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Rome. 


1/ 


offered on the ides—the 15th—of July, This was the anniversary of the battle of Lake 
Regius, and after the rites were performed the Roman knights, richly clothed, crowned 
■with olive, and bearing their trophies, rode by the temple in military procession. 

Opposite the Basilica Julia, the center of the Forum was marked—and is still—by 
the Column of Phocas, It was taken from some temple or basilica, and set on a huge 
pyramid-shaped base of white marble, and surmounted by a gilt bronze statue of Phocas. 
The upper side of the great open city square was skirted by the famous Via Sacra, 
which was not built up on the side of the Forum, but was lined with silversmiths’ shops; 
opposite, and beyond them, were the “ new shops,” where Virginia was stabbed by her 
father with a butcher’s knife, which he seized from one of the stalls, and plunged into 
her breast, as “the only way to keep her free ” from the “tyrant Marcus.” Further 
on was the famous Carta, or Senate House. This great magnificent public hall was 
capable of holding six hundred senators. There was no tribune to which the speakers 
mounted and faced their audience while they talked; each speaker rose in turn and 
spoke in his place, while the fate of the world hung in the balance. Nearly opposite 
the Senate House was the line between the Forum and the Comitium, upon which stood 
the Rostra, or open-air platform, from which the Roman orators addressed the vast 
crowds that gathered at the out-door public assemblies, the Plebeians in the Forum, the 
Patricians in the Comitium. These were the two great parties that belonged to the body 
politic of the early Roman nation. 

The Patricians were probably descendants of the original citizens of the Latins, 
Sabines, and Etruscans, first united in the city of Rome; the Plebeians, the descendants 
of those afterward admitted, were regarded as a much inferior race. But Servius 
Tullius, “ the best and wisest of all the kings of Rome,” skillfully bought about a recon¬ 
ciliation, and opened to this “ common class,” which was fast growing in size and wealth, 
the rights of full citizenship. He gave them laws and liberties, so that they might not 
become jealous of the Patricians—the ruling body, members of the people—and cause 
trouble. So he created a new assembly of a military form, which was open to all citi¬ 
zens, while the Patricians, or Assembly of the Curiae, which had long been the only body 
with any votes, remained the same. Servius Tullius was a great builder as well as 
statesman; he enlarged the boundaries set by Romulus, and the new Poniccrium included 
four of the city tribes, as the departments of Rome, like our townships, were called; these 
were on the Palatine, the Quirinal, the Coelian and its valleys, and on the Esquiline and 
the Viminal Hills. The Capitoline, or Saturnian Hill, was in itself sacred to military and 
religious purposes, and the Aventine, while belonging to the city, was never included 
within the sacred limits of the Pomoerium, but was used for the temple of Diana, the 
great Latin goddess. Servius built this temple because he wished to form an enduring 
alliance with the whole Latin nation. After this the Aventine was used for many sacri¬ 
fices and festivals, which belonged to the national customs of both Latium and Rome. 


2 




18 Cities of the Ancient World. 

These were the precincts within the walls, but without there were many more tribes, or 
townships, directly under the city government. Part of the public duties of the Assem¬ 
bly, which gathered in the Comitium of the Forum Romanum, was to elect the king, for 
early Rome was a monarchy, but not a hereditary monarchy, in which the throne is 
occupied by one after another of a royal family. The rule was to choose the king, who 
was assisted in his government by a senate. This body lasted long after the kingdom 
was succeeded by a Republic, but in the monarchical times it consisted of about three 
hundred members chosen from the Patricians. 

The great street of the Forum, and the most famous in Rome, was the Via Sacra. 
This formed its upper boundaries and small end of the Forum, and extended the whole 
length of the oblong, from the beginning of the Comitium to the foot of the Capitoline 
Hill. Here it met the famous slope of the Capitol, which led by a steep ascent to the 
sacred summit. When a general went up to offer thanksgiving to Jupiter it was through 
the Via Sacra that the pageant passed. The procession came down from the Velian 
ridge, in to the Forum, passing through the eager crowd that lined the street, and up 
over its smooth pavement, past the temples and shops on the upper side and the open 
stretch of the Forum on the other hand, to the foot of the hill, then passing beneath the 
triumphal arch of Severus (after 205 a.d.), wound its way up to the great temple on the 
Tarpeian Hill. 

The highest reward that could be given to a Roman commander was a triumphal 
entrance into the city. As soon as the privilege was granted the Senate pro¬ 
vided for the expenses; streets and squares through which the procession was to- 
march were adorned with garlands and gay hangings. Temples were opened, and 
incense burned on the altars; temporary stands were built to accommodate spectators, who 
gathered in vast throngs along the line of march. The commander, in the meantime, 
usually collected his troops outside the city gates; although sometimes—but rarely— 
the impcriiim within the walls was granted a victor during his triumph. At the Gate of 
Triumph the commander was met by the Senate, the city magistrates, a great body 
of citizens, who took the lead in the march, and lictors—attendants of the magistrates 
—in their official dress, and carrying their fasces or bundle of rods, as symbols of their 
office. As the eager, fantastic crowds fell back, or gazed from their temporary seats, 
shouting lo iritimphe! the stately procession moved on, the city dignitaries followed by 
tibicines, or flute-players, celebrating the occasion with their piping reed-instruments, 
crowned soldiers bearing the booty on the points of long lances or on portable stands. 
This filled the people with intense excitement. They shouted with delight at the armor 
and the standards arranged as trophies, at the models of the cities and the ships taken 
from the enemy, or the pictures of battles, the great tablets inscribed with the deeds of 
the victor. Statues personifying the rivers and towns of the conquered country were 
borne aloft, and treasures of art, valuable plate and vases, silver and gold coins, and 


Rome. 


19 


products of the newly acquired lands. Fettered kings, princes and nobles followed, 
who, after they had done their part in this glorification of their enemy, were withdrawn 
at the foot of the hill, and cast into the Mammertine Prison, whose mouth was open for 
them at the foot of the sacred hill. After this sorrowful company has passed the jeers 
and heartless cries of the Roman populace, come a body of priests, attending the gilt¬ 
horned and garlanded oxen for the sacrifice, while after them, in the place of honor, 
preceded by singers, musicians, and jesters in light, fantastic dress and showy orna¬ 
ments, rolls the triumphal chariot, drawn by four magnificent horses abreast. In the 
chariot stood the victor, the object of the triumph, the idol of the multitude. The 
shouts resounded, unbounded were the tokens of admiration showered upon the victor. 
He was dressed in the toga picta and the tunica palmata, taken for the occasion from 
the statue of Jupiter in the Capitoline Temple, and the eagle-crowned ivory scepter of 
victory was in his hand. Behind him stood a public servant holding the triumphal crown 
over his head. In the rear marched the army. At the Capitol the “ triumphator ” 
deposited his crown in the lap of Jupiter, and made the usual sacrifices of a swine, a 
sheep, and a bull, after which a festive meal was held. With this the day of triumph 
and rejoicing closed. 

When the ancient Romans did anything, or wanted anything; whenever they planned, 
succeeded or failed, their first thoughts turned toward their deities, and this is why the 
great pageants celebrating bloody victories and conquests of other nations wended their 
way to the temples, and why the victorious generals, who were far from what we call 
religious, would first seek the shrine of some deity to offer sacrifices or consult oracles. 
The word religion comes from the Romans, and means obligation., a binding poiver, and 
the religion of the Romans was a feeling of constraint, and their worship a business-like 
performance prompted by ambition for fame, wealth, and other most worldly gratifica¬ 
tions. They worshiped Peace, Valor; had altars to Plague, Hunger, Fear; and made 
offerings to a multitude of gods and goddesses which they believed either represented 
or presided over every element of mind or nature. They prayed to these gods for help, 
and made solemn vows to them when in trouble or difficulties, which were carried out 
with fidelity. Nearly all of the hundreds of temples scattered through Rome were built 
in the keeping of vows, and some of the noblest statues in the world were executed 
from the-same motive. They had great anxiety to know the gods’will, and this they 
wanted in the most direct way; so they practiced what is known as the augural science, 
and read the answers to their prayers by signs in the sky, as by a flight of birds, or the 
flashes of lightning. Augurs were a class of priests, who formed one of the most im¬ 
portant scientific colleges amongst the Romans. It was common for all people to con¬ 
sult the augurs, and representatives of the State were compelled to seek their interpre¬ 
tation of the divine will on all important occasions. A special place in the temple was 
reserved for these observations, and called the tonplimi; it was divided by two lines into 



20 


Cities of tJic Ancient Jl^or/d. 

four squares, and the heavenly signs were determined as lucky or unlucky, according 
to the position in which they were seen in these squares. 

A street running north-eastward from the Forum led through the Siibura^ or popu¬ 
lous quarter covering the low ground between the Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal Hills; 
and beyond reached to the Carinse, which lay on the edge of the Esquiline next to the 
Velia, which was afterw^ard the most fashionable part of Rome. On the southern side 
of the Forum another street ran out by which the people went from the great ]^ia 
Sacra, the upper boundary of the Forum, to the great ox or cattle market, which ex¬ 
tended below the Capitoline, Palatine, and Aventine along the Tiber. There were two 
connecting roads between these fora, one was the Tuscany or Etrurian Way, which made 
a direct route, the other was the New Way or Noiia Via, which led from the Via Sacra 
over the Palatine Hill, and entered the ox market at the Velabrum, at the foot of the 
Palatine. At the head of the Viscus Tiisciis, or Etruscan way, on the Forum, was a bronze 
statue of Vertumnus, the god of Etruria and patron of the quarter through which the 
street led. There was a long trough-shaped fountain here, with groups of buffaloes and 
oxen, in representation of the Lake of Tuturna, the mythological sister of Turnus and 
the wife of Janus the Sabine war-god. This street was much used by the early Romans, 
as it led from the great Forum to the Circus Maximus. On the Via Nova, close under 
the western brow of the hill, was the famous Temple of Vesta, a circular colonnaded 
shrine, beautifully decorated, and sacred to the goddess who was believed to watch over 
the State. It was open during the day and closed at night, but the flame on her altar 
was never allowed to go out. On the first of March each year the fire was renewed, and 
on the ninth of June the vestalia special festivals were held in honor of the goddess; 
on the fifteenth of June the temple was cleared out and the dirt carried into a narrow lane 
behind the building. This was locked by a gate, and no one was allowed to enter it. 
The goddess was a virgin, and her fires were tended and ceremonies performed by young 
Roman priestesses called Vestal Virgins. There were four or six of these, who took vows 
to serve the goddess and remain virgins for thirty years. The order was very strict, and 
any priestess who broke her vows was buried alive. The vestal who allowed the fire to 
die down, was severely punished, as this was looked upon as an omen of the fall of the 
State. On the other hand. Vestal Virgins had many privileges not granted to other 
Roman maidens. They were held in greatest honor by all the people, and ‘received 
respect from the lowest classes as well as the highest. They had some of the best seats 
kept for them in the theaters, were not under any home authority, and could marry if 
they chose after the end of their thirty years of service; but this was considered unlucky, 
so most of them spent the remainder of their lives in the service of the goddess. If the 
eye of a Vestal chanced to look upon a criminal, he was set free. The temple still stands 
near the banks of the Tiber; it is now the Christian church of Maria del Sole, and look¬ 
ing very much as it did in the ancient days of heathendom. Everything had a very prac- 



INTERIOR OF THE PANTHEON 

















































































































































































































Rome. 


23 



tical aspect to the Romans, and while the enlightenment of the ages since those “ grand 
old days of Rome ” has made their religion seem a verj^ blind one, it has but shown 
their practical character in a more favorable position; and we look now with admiration 
upon their wonderful monuments and magnificent public works. As their chief object 
was military power, the first great work of the early Romans was in roadways that should 
be solid at all times of the year for the march of legions of soldiers and quantities of 
heavy baggge. In order to carry them straight to the points aimed at, marshes and 
hollows were filled up, or spanned by viaducts; 


mountains were tunneled, streams were bridged; 
no labor, time, nor money was spared to ex¬ 
tend safe roads in every direction through the 
Roman dominions, connecting conquered prov¬ 
inces with the heart of the State. They threaded 
the Campagna, and intersected the city. The 
roads were either strewn with gravel or paved 
with solid stones, with blocks of a softer common 
tufa for the raised pavements for foot passen¬ 
gers. The middle of the road was generally 
raised a little so as to make the rain-water flow 
off; small outlets for the water were made at 
short distances, and larger passages or archways 
lay under the road. The first and finest of these 
roads was the Appian Way, called the “queen 
of roads.” It was begun by Appius Claudius; 
when the struggle with the Samnites was at its 
height it extended direct to Capua, and later 
further on to Brundusium, the port of embarka¬ 
tion for Greece on the lower Adriatic. Its fine 
smooth pavements stretched in a solid level 
over the Pontine marshes, along the precipitous 
country from Albano to the valley of Ariccia, on 
an embankment faced with freestone, guarded by 
massive balustrades and furnished with seats Julius c.usar 


extending along both sides. 

These great blocks of stone laid in the paving of this road still remain closely 
fitted together after all the storms of change and destruction that have swept over the 
city during two thousand years. Many a victorious general has marched over them in 
triumph at the head of his forces; many a Roman crowd in festivity or in fear has 
thronged the thoroughfare by night or day; but it is not so famous for any of these as 


24 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


for the tread of that teacher and saint, Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, who, fearless 
of persecution and death, entered the seat of idolatry to preach the Gospel to its people. 
The Via Appia entered ancient Rome through the Capuan Gate, and opened upon the 
valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills where the Circus Maximus stood. This 
“ Largest Circus,” as it was called in comparison to all others, is said to have been built 
by King Tarquinius Priscus, who arranged the seats of the people according to their divi¬ 
sion into thirty sections; but it was re-arranged and enlarged time after time by those who 
came after him; it was used after the fall of the kingdom by the Republic; Julius Caesar 
rebuilt it, and in the days of the Empir^ it was kept in splendor till after the death of 
Constantine. The great oval was nearly half a mile long and nine hundred feet broad; 
in its podium half a million of people could sit and look at the chariot races and foot 
races, for which men and horses were constantly trained. A spina or back-bone, of 
narrow gardens, fountains and statuary, ran down the center of the course, at the end of 
which was a triumphal arch. Arcades around the top of the seat tiers were filled with 
jugglers and mountebanks, and stalls for eating, gaming, and carousing. 

Above the Circus Maximus lay the ox market, which after the Forum was the great 
business square, or open place of the city. It occupied a long, low strip of ground along 
the Tiber, but protected from the rising of the river by a quay and drained by the 
famous sewer known as the Cloaca Maxima, or great drain, whose mighty arch of 
masonry and stone is still one of the sights of the Tiber. In earlier times the river 
often overflowed the whole valley between the Palatine and the Capitoline, the water 
sometimes even reaching to the base of the Quirinal. Willows and rushes then covered 
the ground, so that one could not pass over except barefooted; there was a ferry to row 
passengers across, to the foot of the Palatine, and it was from these boats that went from 
one hill to another that the name of Velabrum was given to that part of the ox market 
beneath the Palatine. In the center of the Forum Boariuni, a great bull of brass still 
stands, which was placed here long ago, and adjacent to it Servius Tullius raised a Tem¬ 
ple to Fortune, and another to the Sabine god Matuta. 

Pompey, also, chose a site here for a Temple of Hercules, and after some great vic¬ 
tories in Spain, the first two triumphal arches were raised here in honor of Stertinius. 

The Arch of Janus, the Sabine god, still stands with its four equal sides and arches 
turned to the four points of the compass, and its forty-eight niches for statuary. It 
served as a great portico where the Romans were sheltered from sun and rain while 
discussing the news of the city or matters of business, and where the men whose business 
was connected with the market carried on their traffic. 

Above the site of the ox market stood the theater of Marcellus. It was a custom 
with the ancients to choose a site for a theater, or several of them, as soon as they laid 
out a market or public square, for the people demanded a place to witness the dramas 
on the feast days of the immortal gods. At first the theaters were made of wood, so 


Rome. 


25 


as to be taken down as soon as the performances were over; but in the days of the 
Republic they were made more substantial and of costly materials. One of the finest 
of these was built by Augustus, and called by him the Theater of Marcellus, after the 
emperor’s nephew. It consisted of a great half circle raised in two stories of arcades, 
surmounted by a massive pilastered wall, in much the same style as the Colosseum. The 
semicircle was girdled by corridors and filled with tiers of seats, numbering thirty 
thousand altogether. On the roof of the arcade ropes were fastened by means of which 
a canvas was stretched across the great open top to protect the spectators from the sun. 
In front of the semicircle lay the stage, with various apartments, and the ends and 
back of the long broad open stretch where many actors played at once. 

About opposite the Theater of Marcellus the Tiber divided for a little way to em¬ 
brace an island. The ancients called it the Isola Tiberina, and devoted it entirely, or 
almost so, to sacred purposes. At one time it was cut in the form of a ship, with 
prow and stern; its sides were coated with strong masonry, so that it stood in the stream 
like some giant vessel. There were three great temples built upon it, one to Esculapius, 
one to Jupiter, and one to Faunus; there was also an altar raised here to the Sabine 
god Semo-Sancus. The island was reached by a bridge that crossed it, and reached 
from the main shore above to that below. In imperial times the island had another 
aspect; the site of temples and shrines being used for a prison, or as a neglected spot 
where sick slaves were left to die, the cruel Claudius promising them freedom if they 
recovered. 

The “good Father Tiber “ is three hundred feet wide in the city, and from here, 
on errands of commere and warfare, ships went back and forth to the Mediterranean- 
Sea in great numbers, and along the banks stretching far away over the Campagna there 
were palaces, villas, villages and cities, with gardens and groves, monuments and statues, 
traversed by the arcades of aqueducts, and all connected and continuous, as if a single 
city stretched from the Seven Hills to the sea, to the mouth of the Tiber, there crowded 
with ships, yard-arm to yard-arm, bearing the wealth of the world. To the great city 
came the richness of the earth; Britain and Spain sent metals, from China came silks, 
amber from the Baltic, gems from India, spices and perfumes from Arabia, woven 
fabrics from Babylonia, and the unrivaled works of art from Greece. All that the 
world could produce of things beautiful, rare or precious, its choicest dainties, 
were brought to Rome. They were landed at the quay of the ox market, or brought 
in burdens along the well-built roads. The cargoes for Rome were landed at 
Ostia, which was situated at the mouth of the Tiber. It had one of the grandest 
harbors ever built, where the imports from many countries were brought to be shipped 
to Rome and various parts of the Roman domains. 

The first bridges that crossed the river at Rome were looked upon as sort of religious 
monuments, and an order of priests called Poniifices —bridge makers—took care of 


26 


Cities of the Ancient JJ^or/d. 

them. The name Potitifex Maximus, now the title of the pope, was given by the ancients 
to the high priest of the pontifices. The oldest bridge built in Rome was the Pons 
Sublicius, which Horatius kept “ in the brave old days of old ” against the Etruscan army 
of Lars Porsena. The bridge led from the city to the Janiculum, a hill upon whose 
crest a bulwark against the Etrurians stood. There is a tradition that in earliest times 
Janus, the sun god, founded a city on this hill from which the name of Janiculum has 
come. Afterward there was an altar raised here to Eons, the son of Janus. Janus 
Quirinus was a god of war, whose temple was closed in times of peace, so that the spirit 
of war might not go forth; and for the other reason that it was not then necessary to 
offer sacrifices to him. This site, held sacred to the god of war, was called by the 
Romans, “the key of Etruria,’’ and by the Etrurians “the key of Rome,” and Janus 
was represented with a key in his hand. From here Tarquinius Priscus had his first 
view of the city over which he came to reign, and here the eagle, henceforth the emblem 
of Roman power, replaced upon his head the cap which it had snatched away as he was 
riding in his chariot. Over this eminence also came Lars Porsena and his Etrurian 
band, winding their way in magnificent procession toward the Pons Sublicius, so nobly 
defended by Horatius. Near the foot of the hill Julius Caesar had his famous gardens, 
and on its summit the emperor Galba was buried, and-the remains of the first Sabine king, 
Numa Pompilius, are also said to have been placed. 

The Romans were the greatest bridge builders of the world; they combined wood 
and masonry in splendid long-lasting structures, and were the first to make arched 
bridges. This plan they not only used to span the rushing waters of the yellow Tiber, 
but in building roads, aqueducts, and sewers. Nearly every country that fell under the 
sway of Roman power has still some mighty remains of their bridges or aqueducts, 
stretching miles of arcades over smooth plain or rough and hilly land, showing the great¬ 
ness of the Roman skill in engineering. Among the most wonderful of these works is 
the Great Drain, or Cloaca Maxima, whose noble arch may still be seen near the river. 
It is a semicircular vault, measuring nearly fourteen feet in diameter, and consisting 
of three concentric arches, each made of huge blocks of hard volcanic stone, like the 
masonry which forms the wall where it enters the river. The workmanship of this drain 
is so fine that now, though the stones are kept in their place simply by their own weight, 
without mortar or cement, not one displaced block has been found, and a knife blade 
can scarcely be put in between the joints. This is but the mouth of the vast sewerage 
system of the Tarquins, which by a net-work of underground canals drains the marshy 
lands between the hills and collects the city waste and pours it all into the Great Drain as 
perfectly now probably as it did two thousand five hundred years ago. It was due 
to this nobly planned system that the low-lying parts of the city, especially those along 
the river, existed at all, for the Tiber was then, as now, a broad and rapid stream given 
to great inundations. 



ROMAN VILLA 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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In the time of the emperors, while the Forum Boarium and the Circus Maximus 
were still standing, the Palatine Hill above them was covered with so many and such 
magnificent mansions that from it every nation of Europe calls its most beautiful dwell¬ 
ings by the name of palaces. It was—and still stands—the loveliest and most inter¬ 
esting spot in Rome. The most sumptuous buildings ever raised in Europe stood 
here, and some of the most thrilling events in ancient history transpired on this grand 
old hill. 

Here stood the gorgeous Palace of the Caesars, which stretched aw'ay till it covered 
three hills, and included an area of three and a half miles. The walls, although strong 
as a fortress, were decorated with the finest of sculptures and paintings the world pro¬ 
duced. Chambers, arcades and majestic columns 
were faced with marbles, white as snow or veined 
with purple and gold, and embellished with 
costly gems and metals. It contained all the 
luxuries and conveniences imaginable. The 
furniture was of ivory, sandal wood, cedar, and 
rosewood, ornamented with jewels and uphol¬ 
stered w'ith rich satins, brocades, and the finest 
fabrics that looms could produce or ship bring in. 

Nothing can now picture the beauty of this vast 
pile, or the magnificence and luxury of the 
wooded parks, gardens and terraces, where trees, 
plants, and flowers grew in profusion, where 
fountains of pure or scented water gushed forth 
at every turn, and statues of beautiful form or 
noble sentiment were grouped with perfect taste 
on terrace, in garden, and in shady arbor. 

Through these halls w’alked the cruel Nero; in 
one court Agrippina used to sit with her embroid¬ 
ery when she was not occupied in plotting or 
carrying out some dreadful deed; and through 
these corridors Nero ever felt himself haunted 
by her spirit after her murder, while in reality they were filled by friendly-seeming 
enemies of the hated emperor. . Among these gardens the great philosopher Seneca 
walked and studied, and on the terrace that lay in front of the palace Nero, surrounded 
by his court, watched the Christians burn like torches on a row of poles, set up for his 
human fireworks. The gorgeous pile was called the Golden House, it was the most 
splendid thing of its kind that has ever been known. Its wonders were celebrated 
abroad, by Roman travelers, by foreign visitors, and in the literature of the time. 



NERO. 




30 


Cities of the Ancient J]^orld. 


“ The Palatine, proud Rome’s imperial seat, 

(An awful pile) stands venerably great; 

Thither the kingdoms and the nations come 
In supplicating crowds to learn their doom: 
****** 

Inferior temples rise on either hand, 

And on the borders of the palace stand, 

While o’er the rest her head she proudly rears. 

And lodg’d amidst her guardian gods appears.” 

The palace extended by means of connecting apartments to the Esquiline. A court 
in front, surrounded by a triple colonnade, was a mile long, faced in rich marbles, paved 
with mosaics, and contained a great statue of the emperor. Other courts were occupied 
by gardens, vineyards, meadows, and woods inhabited by tame and ferocious animals, 
or with large ponds, like lakes, with rows of beautiful and unique houses on their banks. 
The walls of the rooms were covered with gold, jewels, and pearls; the ivory with which 
the ceilings of the dining halls was inlaid was made to slide back, so as to admit a rain 
of roses or fragrant waters on the heads of the carousers. At these old Roman banquets 
the long table in the center of the hall was spread with every luxury the world was known 
to produce. The choicest dainties of fish and fowl, fruit and spice, were heaped upon 
the rich and jeweled service with which the table was set. Meat and fish were put on 
small or large flat dishes with raised edges. They were made of metals and beautifully 
chiseled, and some clay dishes of the same fashion which were very costly. The drink¬ 
ing vessels were also of elegant form, of smooth surface, adorned with bas-reliefs, or 
sometimes covered with artistic designs wrought of the material itself or soldered on the 
surface. The Greek custom of adorning drinking vessels with precious stones, the luxu¬ 
rious Romans of imperial times carried to a sumptuous degree. Drinking was a very 
important part of Roman feasts; the wines were of many kinds, and generally mixed 
with water; but the water was used in such small quantities, or the wine in so great abun¬ 
dance, that any large feast, and particularly those of the gross Nero, usually ended in a 
drunken carouse. With their heads and limbs crowned with flowers, the topers reclined 
for hours round the table after the dishes had been removed. A master or king of the 
feast was chosen by a cast of the dice, and then glasses were drained in healths to per¬ 
sons present and absent, witty conversation was kept up, music was played and games 
of chance or betting were introduced to keep the company lively. Sometimes exhibitions 
of dancing were given in the hall, and small plays, or scenes representing carousals of 
the gods, battles, or whatever would excite the interest or please the fancy of the guests. 
Even fights of gladiators were given after the feast on some occasions. Finally, when 
the carousers were overcome with fatigue or liquor, they were borne away by their slaves 
or lay in stupor on their couches or upon the floor until morning. The table, sometimes 
square and at others round or crescent-shaped, was surrounded on three sides by low 


Rome. 


31 


couches, while the fourth side was left open so that the slaves attending the banquet 
could reach the dishes and the banqueters. The space between the table and the couches 
was too narrow for a person to pass between, so the guests took their places from the 
outer side. Each couch was large enough for three people, who reclined their full length 
on the seats facing the table, and resting their left elbow upon a soft cushion. The right 
hand was left free for eating. There was a distinction between places upon the couches, 
which was always observed in seating the guests. The general order of- meals among 
the ancient Romans was something like that of modern Italians. The breakfast was 
taken soon after rising, and was made up of bread, dipped in wine or flavored with salt, 
grapes, olives, cheese, milk, and eggs. At the 
“sixth hour,’’ or in about the middle of the day, 
a more solid meal of both hot and cold food, a 
sort of luncheon, was taken; the dinner or chief 
meal, called the ccna, was eaten at about the 
“ ninth hour,’’ between noon and sunset. This 
was with the wealthy a very elaborate repast, with 
many dishes of imported game, meat and fish, 
and rich entrees and side dishes of most skilled 
cooks. After the Roman conquests in Greece 
and Asia, the simple living of the Romans, when 
slaves and masters lived on the same fare, would 
no longer do; various kinds of meats were called 
for, and fish, delicately flavored, and salads and 
rare fruits were provided. The cooks were not 
hired in as they were wanted, according to the 
earlier custom, but were regularly attached to 
the household and employed in large numbers, 
with assistants and scullions, to prepare even the 
every-day meals. Many of the houses of the wealthiest citizens were provided with fish 
ponds, and the breeding and taming of fish was a favorite occupation. Snail preserves 
were kept, and farms for the care of poultry and birds and various kinds of animals for 
food were attached to many places, and cared for with great attention. 

The emperors who followed Nero improved and altered, or partially removed, his 
palace; and the Palatine Hill has also been the site of two other magnificent houses, one 
of the good emperor Augustus, and another of Domitian. At this age Rome bore a much 
grander aspect than in the time of Servius Tullius, and the other kings. The govern¬ 
ment had so strengthened itself that the city of the Seven Hills had not only conquered 
all Italy, but Macedonia, Greece, Syria, Mesopotamia, Gaul, Britain, and Egypt, and 
had itself become the center of the mightiest nation in the world; the most refined and 



MACEN^S, THE PATRON OF HORACE. 


32 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

beautiful of all cities. All around lay magnificent buildings, palaces, and public squares, 
built with grand colonnades and faced with marble, porphyry and other rich materials, 
and adjoining were beautiful gardens and shaded walks with walls overtopped by trees. 
The wide and regular streets were paved with smoothly joined slabs of hewn stone and 
hard lava, which rested on solid foundations below; the sidewalks, too, were paved, and 
lined with handsome Roman houses, adorned with fountains and beautiful statues plun¬ 
dered from the Greeks. 

The narrow, irregular streets and badly-built houses which had grown without plan 
with the progress of the Roman kingdom, were transformed in the last century of the 
Republic. The conquerors of the world built palaces, circuses and theaters with the 
spoils of their enemies, so that in half a century more Rome contained many magnificent 
palaces and public buildings. The great fire of Nero’s reign, following the vast im¬ 
provements of Augustus, cleared away the poor hovels and mean streets, in place of 
which Nero built a new city upon the hilly ground, with wide and well-planned streets, 
temples, forums and palaces of white and colored marbles from Numidia, Italy, Greece 
and Asia Minor, and porphyry from Egypt. What Nero began the other emperors con¬ 
tinued, and the Eternal City became the grandest and most beautiful sight in the world. 
Great aqueducts, carried on bold arches over valleys, chasms, roads and streams, the 
cold and clear waters of the far away mountains into the city to give health and comfort 
to all, and to still further beautify Rome by gushing out of handsome grottoes and 
fountains. These aqueducts supplied the baths, too, which were among the most im¬ 
portant public and private institutions of all classes. 

The thermcB, or baths of the Romans, were among their finest and most extensive* 
establishments. They included gardens and meeting halls, libraries, and museums, 
connected with the bathing apartments, which were most perfectly arranged for all varie¬ 
ties of hot, cold, and shower baths. All the bathrooms lay over a substructure or base¬ 
ment about two feet high, the ceiling of which rested on rows of pillars standing a foot 
and a half apart. The furnace and firing room lay in front of this, and occupied the 
center of the establishment. From here the heat went out through the basement and 
was carried in earthen or leaden pipes in the walls to the bath rooms. The cold, 
tepid, or hot water wanted for the baths came from three tanks lying above the furnace, 
and connected with each other by means of pipes. The bathrooms were over the base¬ 
ment, around the furnace, at different distances from it, according to their temperature. 
Tanks or tubs occupied the center of the chambers for hot baths and cold baths, while 
benches and chairs were ranged along the walls or stood in niches. A niche on the nar¬ 
row side of the hot bath was filled with a cold water tub, for a plunge after the hot bath. 
In the large public establishments a separate apartment was provided with all the fittings 
for a steam bath; and adjoining were special rooms for dressing, undressing, rubbing 
and oiling the body. These baths, built with great magnificence and most perfect 



THE BATHS OF CARACALLA 





































































































































































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Rome. 


35 

arrangement, were very numerous throughout the city. They were attached to private 
houses, or stood by themselves in open squares, and were some of the grandest buildings, 
of the time. The great baths of Titus were of the most rich and beautiful architecture, 
and so large that they covered nearly half of the plain of the Esquiline Hill, on the 
southwestern side. 

Near the earthworks of Servius the heights beyond the Quirinal and Viminal were 
crowned by another stately structure, built for baths by Diocletian, adjoining which were 
the lovely grounds of the Garden of Sallust; and in the Field of Mars and outside the 
line of the Servian Wall on the south, there were many others of great magnificence. 
The usual time of taking a bath was just before usually the eighth or ninth hour 

of the day. But the establishments were open during the greater part of the day, and 
sometimes at night also. The opening and closing was announced by a bell. Some of 
the baths were free; in others each visitor had first to pay an entrance fee. This was 
received by the janitor, and kept in a box, while the bather received a ticket which he 
handed to the bathing master. While Agrippa was in olifice he built a hundred and 
seventy bathing chambers, to which everybody, for a time, was admitted free; and on 
his death his magnificent private therincB were left to the public. After the bather was 
undressed he entered the room of the tepid bath, where he also received a dry rubbing; 
from here he took a hot bath in a grand, vaulted chamber, with its steaming reservoir 
in the center, and the flat cold-water tank in a side niche. He next went to the cold 
bath, where he plunged into cold water mixed with saffron and other scents. With this 
the water part of the bathing was over, the rubbing and anointing of the skin with oil 
followed. Through the entire process a slave with bather’s outfit often accompanied his. 
master, frequently anointing his skin from an oil bottle, removing the oil and perspiration 
from the surface with a scraper, and rubbing him with linen towels. After the bath the 
hair and skin received a final rubbing and anointing with costly perfumed ointment. 
Scented powders were strewn over the body, which was stretched out and rubbed with 
swan’s down or purple sponges. The bather was then ready to go out into the gym¬ 
nastic grounds and take part in athletic games, to recline on the couches of the library, 
stroll through the shady walks among the fountains and sculptures, or join in the con¬ 
versations of any of the groups of men gathered in the portico for loungers; opportuni¬ 
ties for all of these were close at hand, and provided with the greatest of care and taste 
in connection with the baths. Here a large part of the day was passed by the luxurious 
and wealthy men of imperial times. Nothing now stands to compare with the beauty 
and magnificence of these places. The baths of Caracalla were a mile in circumference, 
and large enough for sixteen hundred to bathe at once. Besides being built on the most 
perfect plan for their use, these baths were rich and magnificent in their mosaic ceilings, 
walls, costly marbles or frescoes, and unlimited numbers of fine statues. The waters, 
came fourteen miles by a special acqueduct, whose arches still stand upon the Campagna. 


Cities of the Ancient iror/et. 


St. George’s Hall, in Liverpool, England, though less than one-fourth the size, is the 
most exact copy now to be seen of the baths. I'he hall, with the two courts at each end, 
are in size and design almost an exact copy of one. 

Between the baths of d'itus and the Palatine, in a fine central location, lay the most 
famous building of Rome; an oval amphitheater, called the Coliseum. It was first 
known as the Flavian Amphitheater, but was, it is said, given the other name from a 
colossal statue of Nero standing near by. It was a colossus itself, wherein nearly ninety 



SECTION SHOWING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE COLISEUM. 

thousand people were sometimes seated to see the cruel sports of the arena. It was 
built by the emperor Titus, who employed upon it six thousand Jews for ten years. 
When it was finished he dedicated it by the slaying of five thousand wild beasts and ten 
thousand captives at a great festival which lasted a hundred days. Six acres of ground 
were covered by the enormous oval, which seated nearly one hundred thousand people 
in tiers around a dirt-covered arena open to the sky. A portico carried around the entire 
building was resplendent with gilded columns, and marble statues thronged the arcades. 
The inner portion of the Coliseum was as magnificent as Titus and all following emper- 










































































Rome. 


37 


ors to Contantine the Great could make it. The podium—seat-galleries—was encrusted 
with costly marble; net-work of gilded bronze, supported by stakes and wheels of ivory, 
guarded the people from the wild animals; the spaces between the seats glittered with 
gold and gems; the awnings were of silk; marble tripods for burning perfumes, and 
fountains of fragrant water scattered delicious odors through the air and upon the people. 
A great system of underground passages lay beneath, through some of which the fierce 
animals were led out to the center; others were conduits for water, by which the whole 
arena was sometimes flooded, making a great lake, where Roman galleys sailed, and 
naval battles were fought with all the fury of a conflict between actual enemies, to the 
delight of the Roman emperor and people, who shouted applause when blood flowed 
over the decks and stained the waters below. There were broad roads leading to the 
Colosseum, and toward the northwest it was but a short distance from the Forum. The 
Temple of Rome stood at the right hand on the way, and beyond it the arch of Titus 
commemorated that good emperor’s conquests in Judea; a little further along on the 
upper side of the Comitium of earlier days, stood the Temple of Constantine on the Via 
Sacra, above which tlie fora and the temples of the emperors Trajan, Augustus, and 
Vespasian extended one after another along the eastern side of the Capitoline Hill. 

When the Aurelian Wall was built the Campus Martius, lying in the bend of the river, 
Avas enclosed within the city boundaries, for here some of the finest of the new buildings 
had sprung up. The Campus was originally the field for military drill, and the meet¬ 
ings of the great masses of the people under the rule of the early kings and the Repub¬ 
lic. Gradually, as the city grew beyond the old walls, it became somewhat built up; 
until in later times only the large irregular triangle-shaped part lying in the bend of the 
river was reserved. This part was a great place for gymnastic exercises, and military re¬ 
views and great open-air assemblies, while the remainder was occupied by public buildings, 
temples, with stately colonnades enclosing an open space about them, baths, theaters and 
■circuses. Here the mighty consuls of Rome, the generals and citizens who have left names 
g;reat in history, gathered in the midst of a vast concourse to witness the sports, review 
the troops, or receive the congratulations of the multitude upon their successful con- 
•quests in other lands. One of the chief places among these latter buildings was the 
Pantheon, or “ temple to all gods.” It was devoted especially to Jupiter or to Mars and 
Venus, and after them to all deities. It was built by Agrippa, the friend of Augustus, 
connected with his wonderful Thermae and dedicated to the gods. The Pantheon still 
stands in the midst of the modern city, and consists of two parts, the oblong or square¬ 
shaped portico, and the round edifice or the temple itself. A flight of steps led up to 
the portico, which is over a hundred feet long and nearly fifty deep; it is supported by 
sixteen lofty columns of Oriental granite, grouped so as to form three naves. The 


Cities of the Ancient I For tot. 


3B 

center nave leads to the great brass doors at the entrance to the temple, on either side 
of which colossal statues of Augustus and Agrippa stood in niches. The great round 
edifice is divided into three sections or stories by handsome cornices, the second and 
the highest being each broken by large arches wit,h smaller ones between. Above, the 
cupola begins in seven mighty steps, and rises in a magnificent dome, whose height is 
equal to the diameter of the great round temple beneath it. This is so perfect in shape 
that the domes of some of the greatest buildings since erected have been copied from 
it; among them are St. Peter’s of modern Rome, situated across the river and St. 
Sophia’s at Constantinople. The interior of the mighty rotunda, nearly a hundred and 
fifty feet in diameter, is surrounded by seven apertures beside the entrance, which are 
alternately square and circular niches. The tiers of the inside walls correspond to those 
without; the lowest is adorned with columns and pilasters between and before the niches. 
Part of these are of a beautifully veined yellow marble, and part of them are of a differ¬ 
ent kind, skillfully colored to harmonize with the others. Above this story another stands, 
which was covered with plates of colored marble and crowned by a beautiful cornice 
which forms the base of the cupola. This is finished in five stripes, or rows of finely- 
worked squares, called ‘"caskets.” There are twenty-five in each row growing gradually 
smaller toward the top, in which there is a large round opening. The blue sky, seen 
through this hole, made a fine finish to the brilliant colors of the Pantheon decorations, 
and at the same time lighting the interior most perfectly. 

Adjoining the Pantheon and all around were broad streets, baths, great squares 
inclosed by colonnaded walls, in the center of which stood the long and peak-roofed 
temples and basilicas or halls, with their porticoes, arcades and rows of columns. Near 
by was the palace of Alexander Severus and his circus, the Odeum, the Arch of Tibe¬ 
rius, with the story of that emperor’s victories told in bas-relief. This was one of the 
triumphal monuments that graced the Flaminian Road, the great northern highway 
through Italy, corresponding to the Appian Way on the south. Beneath the brow of Mount 
Pincius and the Quirnal Hill, on the western edge of Campus Martius, it extended in a 
stately avenue, spanned by triumphal arches, to the Forum and Arch of Trajan at the foot 
of the Capitoline Hill. Many palaces of the rich Roman nobles lined the way, with 
graceful overhanging balconies, from which, in imperial times, great men and beautiful 
women looked down upon military processions, triumphal entrances, and the brilliant 
scenes of the ancient carnival. This festival is said to have originated here in the cele¬ 
bration of the spring-time feast. The Via Flaininia, the site of the Corso, where the 
modern carnivals are held, was then the scene of a magnificent pageant of emperor and 
nobles, of richly caparisoned horses drawing luxurious platforms on wheels, of all 
kinds of splendor, gayety and extravagant pleasure. 



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41 


Rome was now the capital of a vast empire with fully a million and a half of people, 
wealthy officers of the city and imperial government, freedmen and slaves. For pur¬ 
poses of police the whole city was divided into fourteen districts, containing two classes 
of dwellings. Those of the wealthier inhabitants were called do77ius or mansions, while 
the poorer people lived in detached apartments built in blocks called itisulce or islands. 
The mansions were built around an open court, which gave light and air to the apart¬ 
ments opening upon it. Sometimes the great houses belonging to the nobility w'ere 
made up of many courts, each surrounded by rectangular buildings. The houses of the 
poor—a very large and wretched class in the magnificent city—were upon the same 
plan, they were usually six or more stories high, covering large blocks and occupied by 
many families, who lived chiefly on porridge and vegetables, such as cabbage, turnips, 
and radishes, leeks, garlic, onions, pulse, cucumbers, pumpkins, anc^melons. 

The court or atriu77i of a Roman house was the home-room, where the images of the 
family’s gods were kept and where the women worked and the different members of the 
household met each other. From it passages or doorways led to the sleeping rooms and 
store rooms. Between the atriu77i and the vestibule, which fronted on the street, lay a 
broad paved passage, called the ostiiwi. Sometimes, in the large houses the principal 
court behind the ostiu77i was used as a reception room for the men who came to see the 
master on business; then the household gods— ox tutelary deities, as they are called—were 
removed to one of the courts further away from the vestibule, so that the family might 
be undisturbed. All parts of the house were usually decorated with statues, mouldings, 
bas-reliefs and frescoes. The floors were solidly and substantially laid with colored 
stones or marbles in handsome designs. The furniture consisted for the most part of 
benches, chairs, and couches; the seats sometimes had side-arms, but were without 
backs. The legs and cushions were most richly ornamented, and so were the tables, 
with wonderfully inlaid jewels, carving and mosaics. In day time the houses were 
lighted from a simple hole in the roof or in the side wall; glass was not used for window 
panes. Lamps were bowl-shaped, a nozzle sticking out in which lay the wick. Some¬ 
times nozzles projected all the way round the bowl, so that one lamp had many wicks 
and gave a circle of light. These, like the branching candelabra also used, were often 
very elegant with bronze and silver ornaments. In addition to the town house every 
Roman of importance had a country residence or villa, which was usually situated in the 
vicinity of Rome, in some fair spot on the Campagna or along the seaside. In ancient 
times the Campagna was fertile, green and beautiful, and was a delightful retreat for all 
who could afford to leave the city during the heated months of summer and fall. They 
were built and furnished in much the same way as the dwellings in the city, but covered 
a great deal more ground. It often happened that the Campagna or seaside residence 
was the favorite house of the family, and so they were, as a rule, more cornfortable and 
luxurious. They were built with very handsome effect, domes and towers rising above 


42 


Cities of the A7icient Jlhrld. 

stately colonnades, broad piazzas, balconies and shady recesses. Ivy-covered columns 
partially enclosed the courts, where running water flowed through marble channels or 
sprang from jets and fountains surrounded with flowers; shaded walks, paved with brill¬ 
iant-colored mosaics and overhung with vines, led from the villa to gardens beautifully 
laid out with flower-beds, where roses, violets, narcissuses, hyacinths and lilies perfumed 
the air and delighted the eyes. These were about all the flowers known to the ancient 
Romans, but their gardeners had skill in designing and made their small variety show to 



ROMAN GARDEN SCENE. 

fine advantage upon terraces and slopes, or long stretches of level ground. Smoothly 
cropped grassy swards were bordered by trimmed hedges, and beech and other trees 
and bushes were clipped and trained into fine growth and many fantastic shapes. There 
were dense natural groves, or carefully designed globes, pyramids, ships, and animals 
in luxuriant foliage. These were highly valued by the Roman citizen, who could not 
€njoy the pleasure even of a very small garden in connection with his town house, except 








Rome. 


43 



at great expense, as every square foot of ground was of great value, and the street front¬ 
age was even limited by law. 

The Roman house was kept by the master’s wife, who looked well to the ways of her 
household. She gave her mind mainly to her home 
and family, often controlling and directing hundreds 
•of slaves. These bondmen and bondwomen were not 
only servants in waiting, but in almost all wealthy fam¬ 
ilies included mechanics and craftsmen of nearly every 
kind. There were a complete staff of architects, com¬ 
prising many men engaged in various branches of 
designing and building, tailors and hair-dressers, 
musicians and troops of mimics and jugglers. Physi¬ 
cians and surgeons were mostly slaves or freedmen, and 
the private secretary of the master of the house was 
often a slave; and from positions of trust and honor 
to the humblest service nearly every one of the many 
offices for the family in general and each member of it 
in particular were performed by a separate slave. 

Many were kept to carry sedan chairs, which was the 
usual mode of traveling about the end of the Repub¬ 
lic. In town, only senators and ladies were allowed 
to be carried in these little canopied and curtained con¬ 
veyances; but the litters—a frame with straps to sup¬ 
port a mattress and pillow—was in common use. 

These, too, were carried by strong slaves dressed in 
rich red liveries. There were public litters for hire 
in the streets, and every well-to-do household had at 
least one, with slaves to carry it. Slaves dressed in a 
tunic or short-skirted shirt. These were of coarse 
dark material if the men were laborers, while the 
higher household servants or attendants had more 
handsome material. After a slave had been given 
or had bought his liberty he put on the pileus —a 
close-fitting felt cap—the toga, or Roman mantle, roman and toga. 

wore a ring and shaved his beard. These were 

the signs of the freedmen, who were the principal tradesmen and handicraftsmen in 
the city. A free-born Roman fblt that mechanics and trade, except commercial 
business on a large scale, were beneath him. Landed property, with rents bringing a 
large income, was the only worthy source of wealth to a Roman of good position in 




44 


Cities of the Aiieient World. 



society. Military or civil glory, to patronize sports, literature and art were his ambition; 
duty to his country was his watchword. In all these ambitions the Roman matron sym¬ 
pathized with her husband. She watched over the health, the training, and the educa¬ 
tion of her children, and many of the noble 
Roman matrons found time in the midst of all 
these cares to aid their husbands in their affairs 
beside. The matrons went out as they chose; 
there was no law or custom to prevent them from 
going on the street or to public entertainments, 
circuses, and festivals. The young ladies were 
called virgins, and were under the authority of 
their parents until they were married, unless 
they became priestesses to Vesta. 

'I'he garb of the Romans was a dress laid on, 
not drawn on, as our clothes are. It consisted 
of two parts: the upper garment was the toga of 
the men, and the. palla of the women; it was a 
long piece of goods, often of rich material, beauti¬ 
fully embroidered, and laid on like a cloak in 
ample folds. It was quite an art to arrange the 
toga or palla properly; the mass of folds were 
laid part in one direction and part in another, 
forming loops for the arms and a sort of pocket 
over the breast. The other garment was worn 
under this on the street, and without it in the 
house; it was called the tunica, and coming about 
to the knees, fitted the men closely; but the 
women wore it more loosely, and had it reach to 
the ground; sometimes it had sleeves and some¬ 
times not. This was tj^ie common garment for 
home and all ordinary occasions; the quality of 
the material showing the difference in the social 
position of the wearer. Men and- women wore 
sandals when they went visiting, which were 
ROMAN matron. green, yellow, and black; but when men went 

out dressed in the toga they wore shoes. This 
outer cloak became less common after the Republic, and in the days of the Empire 
it was worn as gentlemen now wear their “ dress suits,” on very fashionable or 
important occasions. The women’s garments were not made just like the men’s» 












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































R ome. 


47 



although both had the same general design; the women wore more clothes than 
the men, and usually had them of richer materials, while the clasps and orna¬ 
ments worn by a noble lady sometimes were set with millions of dollars’ worth of 
jewels. The luxury and elegance of dress, like that in living, in buildings and in 
everything else, reached its height during the Empire. The great emperor Augustus 
said with pride that he had found 
Rome a city of brick and left it a city 
of marble. The most magnificent 
palaces ever built were in his time, 
and he himself was chief builder. 

His noble mausoleum stood on the 
Fia Flaminia toward the northern 
gate. Its lofty marble towers rose 
in three stages, each one smaller than 
that below it, making a terrace which 
was covered with earth and planted 
with cypresses. In these stages 
there were many chambers wherein 
row within row, and story upon story, 
the remains of members of the im- 
perial family were laid, with many 
thousands of their slaves and freed- 
men. In the center Augustus, the 
founder of the empire, lay, while his 
statue crowned the summit of the 
magnificent pile. 

Augustus was the first emperor; 
he came after and was appointed by 
Julius Caesar; after him the impe¬ 
rial rule lasted for several hundred 
years, and during the reign of the 
first twelve emperors the State rose 
steadily in strength till its will 
swayed all the known world; but Its Constantine the great. 

power was too great for the men who 

held the scepter, and among the wise ones were others who thought Rome could never 
fall, and so neglected their duty, that the good emperors were not able to redeem the 
evils; and Marcus Aurelius, who died in i8o a.d., was the last to see the Eternal City 
in her glory. Mean-minded, wicked rulers followed him, who lost great territories in 







48 


Cities of the Ancient IVorld. 

other countries, and finally divided the empire, and beside the outside losses, weakened 
their power by civil wars, until Alaric the Goth, from Northern Europe, entered and 
sacked the city. After this, which was in the year 410 a.d., the empire was broken up 
into many countries, which are now the kingdoms and empires of modern Europe, Asia, 
and Africa. But, although this mighty State has never recovered its power, and the 
queenly city can never be restored in its grandeur, Rome is eternal. Out of the Roman 
Empire arose the modern state system of Europe, and the Roman language, law, and 
institutions are still, in changed forms, alive and active in the modern world. 

About si.xteen miles from Rome, where the Tiber enters the old Tyrrhenian Sea, 
stood the celebrated port of Ostia. The harbor of this city was one of the finest ever 
built. It was not a natural bay, but out in the sea an artificial island and long semi¬ 
circular walls were built of massive stone. The harbor, which was altogether artificial, 
having been made by extending dams and walls far into the sea from the even shore line. 
The island, crowned with a lofty light-house, formed a fine breakwater in front of the large 
piers of the harbor, into which came great ships from Sicily, Sardinia, and Africa, loaded 
with corn for the Roman market. Ostia was built by Ancus Martins, who had three 
great pillars of chalk, mortar, and clay brought in an immense vessel, and sunk—with 
the ship—to form the foundation of the breakwater. Ostia had two harbors; the large 
outer port was built out into the sea, in the shape of a vast oval, with entrances on each 
side of the island; a somewhat smaller inside basin was made by digging out part of the 
shore, and protecting the banks thus made by freestone walls, which extended around 
it in the form of a five-sided figure, with a sixth side partly free of quays for an entrance. 
Fine stone-built canals connected the two harbors, and led from both of them to the 
Tiber, through which vessels passed out to the open sea. On the embankments stood 
store-houses, several stories high. They were built with large arched chambers and 
vaulted ceilings. For a long time this was the chief haven for Rome and the principal 
station of the Roman navy. It was a thriving and important town of itself, and had 
a noteworthy place among the settlement of Italy until about the time of the fall of the 
empire. The old town lay along the sea-shore and close to the outer harbor; but a new 
town opened up in the time of the emperor Claudius when the inner basin was made, 
and this was familiarly known as Portiis, or the port of Rome. 

Second to Rome in wealth, in size, and the number of its people, was the marble- 
built city of Capua. It was the capital of Campagna, in the southern part of Italy, 
and was founded in about 800 b.c. by Etruscans, a .very ancient race of Italy. Their 
country, Etruria, was inhabited by a civilized and cultivated people long before Rome 
was founded, and they were entirely different from the other inhabitants of ancient Italy, 
in their appearance, their religion, and their language. Under the rule of the Etruscans, 
Capua outrivaled almost every other city of Italy in wealth and prosperity. The 
people became very skillful in the arts, and were fond of recreation; they held a great 


Capita. 


49 


many and most sumptuous festive entertainments, games, races, and dances. But these 
luxurious habits made the men weak and lazy; they became unfitted for war, and when 
their hardy neighbors came down on them they were unable to fight. So the Samnites 
finally conquered the city and took possession of it. Although this made a complete 
•change of laws and rulers, it did not affect the prosperity of the city, which increased so 
much in wealth and prosperity that, in 343 b.c., the old historian Livy called it the 
greatest and most wealthy city of Italy. All this wealth and luxury, however, had the 
:same effect upon the Samnite inhabitants that it had had upon the Etruscans; they, too, 
were conquered, after a^series of wars, by the Romans, and the beautiful city came under 
a still more powerful rule. From this time it grew even more prosperous than ever; it 
continued to increase in opulence until, in 216 B.c., it was almost as grand as Rome 
and Carthage. It was in these happy, palmy days of Capua, that she was able to send 
out an army of thirty thousand foot soldiers and four thousand horsemen. When the 
Carthaginian general Hannibal came to Italy to fight against Rome, Capua went over 
to his side, and his army had their winter quarters one year in the city. The time spent 
by the Carthaginians within the walls of Capua nearly ruined their discipline and warlike 
habits; for the city was so gay, and had such a continual round of amusements, that 
the soldiers almost forgot what they had come to Italy for. When the Romans finally 
defeated Hannibal they punished Capua severely for having revolted from them, and the 
city lost much of its dignity, being placed under very strict Roman rule, and having 
many of its privileges taken away. Nevertheless, the splendid streets and buildings 
remained, and the people were famous for their luxury and refinement. The city stood 
on a perfectly level plain, and was spread out over a wide extent of ground, with broad 
:streets and low houses. Two of these streets or squares, called the Seplasiaand Albana, 
were particularly celebrated, and were the most frequented and busy in the city. In 
the Seplasia were hundreds of shops of the perfumers, a trade for which Capua was 
noted far and wide; it was also a great source of revenue, for Capuan perfumers sup¬ 
plied the whole empire of the West with their choicest odors and most costly scents. 
The aqueduct, built by Augustus Caesar, and named the Aqua Julia, was a splendid 
work, and the pride of the town for its magnificence as well as for its usefulness; the 
amphitheater, where the shows of gladiators were held, was also a superb structure, one 
of the finest of its kind in all Italy. This form of amusement was popular from the 
earliest times with the Capuans, and the city was celebrated throughout Italy and the 
Mediterranean provinces for its exhibitions of savage sport. 

Gladiators were men who fought with each other or with wild animals for the enter¬ 
tainment of spectators. They w'ere originally captives, slaves, or condemned criminals; 
but afterward free-born citizens, knights, senators, and even women fought in the arena, 
as it was called. Sometimes a slave, if he survived three years of fighting as a gladia¬ 
tor, was set free; but only the most skillful ones were not killed in the terrible contests. 

4 


50 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


At one time there were five thousand of this class of men at Capua. They were taught 
the positions to be taken when falling or in dying, and a certain kind of food was given 
them to thicken their blood and cause them to die slowly; for the more agony a gladi¬ 
ator suffered, the more the people enjoyed the show. They were divided into many 
classes, according to the way in which they fought, and the weapons they used. Some 
of them were blindfolded; some fought in troops, others in chariots and on horseback. 
Sometimes they were in full armor; then again they only had short daggers for the com¬ 
bat; the retiarii were light armed gladiators, and fought by throwing a net over their 
antagonist, and then killing him with a three-pointed lance. If a combatant was con¬ 
quered, but not killed, his fate depended on the people looking on, who turned their 
thumbs down if they wished him to be spared. A man who had once been a gladiator 
was always regarded as disgraced, and if a noble, he could never resume his rank. 
This cruel sport grew to a terrible extent, and the people had an extravagant passion 
for it. There was once a contest which lasted one hundred and twenty-three days, in 
which ten thousand gladiators fought, and eleven thousand fierce animals were killed. 
Quite often the gladiators revolted against the harsh and cruel training they were made 
to undergo in preparation for the contests, and in 73 b.c. a very serious outbreak oc¬ 
curred. Spartacus, a Thracian by birth and originally a shepherd in his own country, 
was taken captive and trained in the school of gladiators at Capua. He persuaded 
about seventy of his fellow pupils to escape with him from the city, and to take refuge 
in the crater of Mount Vesuvius. An army of three thousand men was sent against him, 
but was defeated, and their weapons became the trophy of the victors. Then Spartacus 
proclaimed liberty to all slaves who should flee to him, and in a short time he collected 
a force of one hundred thousand men, a large part of them trained to fight, making a 
.most formidable array. For a long time he was victorious over every army sent against 
him, but his followers began to quarrel among themselves and that put an end to his 
success. He perished in a final battle with the Roman general Crassus; sixty thousand 
of his men were killed, and six thousand prisoners were crucified in the Appian Way at 
Rome, which was a fine open thoroughfare between the two cities. 

On the north shore of a long arm of the Mediterranean, which in ancient and modern 
times has taken its name from the city, stood Tarentum, one of the most celebrated 
and powerful places of Southern Italy. Tarentum was a Greek city, established by colo¬ 
nists from Sparta, in about 708 b.c., at about the time of the founding of Rome. Though 
its land was not so fertile as that of some other cities of Italy, it was well suited for the 
growth of olives, and its pastures produced wool of the finest quality, while its port, or 
inner sea, as it was called, abounded in shell-fish of all descriptions. Among these the 
Murex, which produced the celebrated purple dye, was the most important and valuable. 
But Tarentum especially owed its rapid rise to wealth and power to its excellent port. 
This was not only land-locked and secure, but it was the only safe harbor of any extent 



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Clin ice. 


51 


on the shores of the Tarentine Gulf, soTarentum became the chief market for commerce 
of all this part of Italy. The city always had some of the institutions of the rigid Spar¬ 
tans, but many of the inhabitants, unlike the people of their mother country, neglected 
their gymnasia and strengthening drill, and sunk themselves in luxury and idleness; 
so they were unable to resist the attacks of the Romans, who, full of martial prowess, 
marched upon them, and finally became their masters. Nevertheless the Tarentines 
were warlike enough to support quite an army. They furnished not only a body of 
■cavalry, but a large force of heavy-armed foot soldiers. These were called the Lcucas- 
pids, from their white shields, and were especially formidable in battle. When the city 
fell into the hands of the Romans, they took some of its finest statues and works of art 
to the capitol, and also plundered the rich city of a vast quantity of gold and silver, in 
massive, richly wrought pieces. The general form of Tarentum was that of a triangle 
with the citadel at the apex. It had a splendid gymnasium, and a good-sized Agora, or 
market place, in which stood a colossal bronze statue of Jupiter, the largest in existence, 
next to that at Rhodes, which was one of the seven wonders of the world. Just outside 
the Agora was the Museum, a public building which was used for festivals and public ban¬ 
quets. Tarentum was celebrated for its pleasant climate and its fertile lands; it pro¬ 
duced delicious honey and fine, large olives, and its oils and wines were of the choicest 
quality. But the chief production of the city was its wool, which was better than that 
from any other part of Italy; nor was this entirely due to the natural advantages of the 
•country, as the Tarentines bestowed the greatest care upon the keeping and improvement 
■of their breed of sheep. The city was also noted for its horses; it supplied the Taren¬ 
tine cavalry, which was for a long time famous throughout Italy and Greece. The ter¬ 
ritory abounded also in pears, figs, and chestnuts, while the shores of the gulf produced 
an abundance of shell-fish, which formed in ancient times a favorite article of food. 
The climate of Tarentum, though justly praised for its mildness, was generally reckoned 
soft and enervating, and was considered to some extent the cause of the luxurious and 
indolent habits of the people. The inhabitants in the fourth century b.c. devoted them¬ 
selves almost entirely to the pursuit of pleasure, and it is said that there were more an¬ 
nual festivals held than there are days of the year. With their habits of luxury the 
Tarentines combined the cultivation of the fine arts. The great beauty and variety of 
their coins is a proof of this, and ancient writers speak of the numbers of pictures, 
statues, and other works of art with which the city was adorned. Nor was literature 
neglected; in addition to Archytas, a philosopher celebrated for his mathematical dis¬ 
coveries, Aristoxenus, the great musician, and Rhinthon, a dramatic poet, were natives 
of Tarentum. It was from this city, too, that the Romans first learned the principles 
■of the regular dramas. 

On the coast of Campania, in the southwest part of Italy, was Cumae, a place of 
great interest to us, not so much on account of the city itself nor the position it held 


52 


Cities of the Aiiciejit World 


among other towns of importance of those days, but because it is where some of the 
fabulous events told in Virgil’s famous book, called the ^-Eneid, are said to have oc¬ 
curred. Virgil was the greatest of Roman poets, and his writings are among the finest 
Latin classics known to us. The date of the foundation of Cumce is unknown, but 
there is no doubt that it was very ancient, for it was in the height of its prosperity and 
power when Rome was but a new settlement. The Etruscans first subdued it, and finally it 

came under the power of the Romans and 
was made what was called a municipal town. 
Under the Roman Empire Cumae was noted 
for the manufacture of a particular kind of 
red earthenware. Its territory also produced 
excellent flax, which was especially adapted 
for the manufacture of nets, and the fertile 
vineyards on the plain around the city yield¬ 
ed a delicious and very famous wine. The 
abode of one of the Sibyls was at Cumae, and 
it is in connection with her that Virgil tells 
his story of the hero yEneas’ descent into the 
lower regions. The Sibyls were supposed 
to be prophetic by the ancients; some old 
authors say there were four; others say 
there were ten of them. The most famous 
of all was the Cumaean Sibyl; according tO' 
an ancient legend she offered to sell to a 
certain king of Rome nine books, which he 
refused to buy. Turning three, she offered 
the remaining six for the same price that she 
had asked for the nine; being refused again, 
she burned three more, and still demanded 
the same price for the remaining three. The 
king bought these, and the Sibyl vanished. 
They were the famous sibylline books, and 
were preserved in the temple of Jupiter 
on the Capitoline Hill at Rome, in the care 
of two officers; afterward there were ten officers, and finally fifteen, who alone, directed 
by the Senate, might look at the contents of the books. Counsel and help were sought 
from the Sibyls, under the belief that they were able to predict future events, to turn 
away misfortune, and to appease the gods. When the ships of the Trojans at last 
reached the shores of Italy, after their long voyage from Troy, while his companions. 



VIRGIL. 



























































Cumce. 


53 


were making their camp, ^meas went to the cave of the Sibyl. She told him all the 
trials and dangers he must pass through, and asked him, so the story goes, if he had 
any request to make, ^neas told her that he had been directed in a dream to go 
to the abode of the dead, where his father Anchises was, and get from him an account 
of his future fortunes, whether he would succeed in founding the great city he hoped to 
in Italy or not, and he asked the Sibyl to help him in the undertaking. She consented, 
and told ^neas to go into the forest and find a tree on which he would see a golden 
branch; he was to pluck this branch and carry it with him to the lower world as a guard 
against harm, ^neas obeyed her orders, procured the golden branch, and together 
they started upon their journey to the abode of the dead. Before the threshold of hell, 
they had to pass by fiends and monsters in every kind of hideous form and shape, and 
^neas, very much frightened, drew his sword, and would have struck at them, but the 
Sibyl prevented him. Then they came to the river Cocytus or Styx, over which an old 
boatman named Charon carried the spirits of those who had died and were buried; the 
hosts of others who had remained unburied without the usual rites of the ancients, were 
not allowed to cross the stream, but wandered for a hundred years along its bank, after 
which they were taken over, ^neas and the Sibyl had some trouble in persuading Charon 
to ferry them across, but the sight of the golden branch made him take them on board 
his boat. On the opposite shore they were met by the three-headed dog Cerberus, who 
began to bark with his three throats at once. The Sibyl threw him a cake soaked with 
something to make him sleep, and while he greedily devoured it AEneas and his com¬ 
panion passed on, and went through the home of those who had died by their own hand. 
Then they entered the regions of sadness, where those people were who were not freed 
from pain by death itself, and finally they came into the abode of heroes who had fallen 
in battle. Here Hineas saw many of his friends who had been killed at the siege of 
Troy and elsewhete, and talked with them. He would have lingered long with his Tro¬ 
jan friends, but the Sibyl hurried him away to a place where there were two roads, one 
leading to Elysium, the home of the good, the other to Tartarus, the region of the 
condemned. Htneas looked down this path and saw all manner of punishments being 
inflicted. There were groups seated at tables loaded with dainties, while near by stood 
a Fury who snatched away the food from their lips as fast as they prepared to taste it. 
Others had huge rocks suspended over their heads, threatening to fall, keeping them in 
a state of constant alarm. One was there, fastened to a wheel which kept revolving, 
another had the task of rolling a large stone up to a hill-top, but when the summit was 
almost reached, the rock, pushed by some sudden force, always fell again to the foot of 
the hill. There was another who stood in a pool, his chin level with the water, but when 
he tried to drink, the water rushed away, leaving the ground dry at his feet. Tall 
trees laden with fruit stooped their heads to him, pears, pomegranates, apples, and 
hiscious figs; but when he tried to seize them, winds whirled them out of his reach. 


54 


Cities of the xincient World. 


The Sibyl now warned .Tineas that it was time to turn from these awful scenes and 
seek the city of the blessed; so they journeyed on, and came into the Elysian fields, 
the groves where the happy resided. Here the air was purer and freer, and the “shades,” 
or spirits of the dead, were enjoying themselves in various ways, some in sports on the 
green grass in games of strength or skill, others in dancing or singing. At last, among 
the countless multitudes, yEneas joyfully recognized Anchises. The father and son 
had a long conversation, Anchises pointed out to ^Eneas men of his race who were 
to be born, related to him the exploits they would perform in the world, and told him 
how the result would be the foundation of a Trojan city, from which the Roman power 
should rise, to be in time the ruler of the world. Hilneas and the Sibyl then left Anchi¬ 
ses, and returned by some short cut, which the poet does not explain, to the upper 
world. Such was the story told of Cumae and the Sibyl who had her cave there. Near 
the ruins of the ancient city her abode is still pointed out to the traveler. 

Crotona was one of the most celebrated Greek colonies in the southern part of Italy. 
It was founded by a body of Achaeans and Spartans about 710 b.c., and very soon 
became distinguished for its size, wealth, and power. Its name was derived, so the 
ancient legend said, from a person of the name of Croton, who gave a night’s shelter 
to the god Hercules during his wanderings; but having been accidentally killed by him, 
he was buried on the spot which Hercules predicted would become the site of a mighty 
city. Crotona was believed by some of the ancients to have been the founder of the city, 
and particular worship was always paid to Hercules by the inhabitants. Not far from 
Crotona was Sybaris, and these two towns, founded about the same time, enjoying an 
equal amount of wealth and prosperity, became two of the most populous and powerful 
cities of that part of Italy. Crotona, however, was far less luxurious than its rival; its 
inhabitants devoted themselves particularly to athletic exercises, and became cele¬ 
brated for the number of prizes they carried off at the Olympic games and other contests. 
The city was famous for the healthfulness of its situation; one old legend said that the 
founder of Crotona when asked by a god what especial advantage he desired for it, replied 
that he chose health. So the situation was made particularly free from anything that would 
cause illness, and this is said to be the reason why the people excelled in the sports. 
For the same reason the young men and maidens of the city were distinguished for their 
remarkable personal beauty. Crotona had a medical school of great renown, and the 
physicians of the place were considered the best either of Greece or Italy. Among the 
athletes of the place, Milo was the most celebrated for his gigantic strength and power 
of body; he gained the victory in wrestling six years in succession at the public contests. 
He is said to have carried a four-year old heifer on his shoulders four times around the 
Olympic race-course, and then to have eaten the whole of it in one day. In 511 b.c. 
he was appointed to command an army against the Sybarites, and did wonders in the 
final battle, in which an army of one hundred thousand men from Crotona defeated three 


Mantua. 


55 


hundred thousand from Sybaris. When he became an old man and was somewhat 
weakened by his age, he tried to tear apart with his hands a forest tree partially split by 
wood-cutters; he was caught and held fast by the closing of the crack, and was de¬ 
voured by wolves, being powerless to defend himself. Between 540 and 530 b.c. 
Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher, came to Crotona and taught his doctrines there with 
a great deal of success. He and his followers, mostly young men of the city, com¬ 
pletely changed the government for a time, but Pythagoras finally became unpopular 
and was banished, and many of his disciples were killed. Six miles out of the city was 
a temple of the goddess Juno or Hera, which was the most famous building of the kind 
in southern Italy. This temple became the scene of a great yearly gathering of all 
the Italian Greeks, at which a procession took place in honor of the goddess, to whom 
splendid offerings were made; and this festival was a favorite time for the inhabitants 
of the neighboring cities to shpw their magnificence. Around the temple itself was a 
large forest of pine-trees, enclosing within it rich pastures, on which the cattle belonging 
to the temple were allowed to feed unprotected and uninjured. Out of the money which 
the sale of these cattle produced a column of solid gold was built and set up in the 
sanctuary. 

Mantua was a very ancient city, founded by the Etruscans four hundred years- 
before the building of Rome, in the northern part of Italy, near the river Padus, or Po, 
as it is now called. Like most of the cities in Italy, it early came under the dominion 
of Rome, but its name rarely appears in history, and it is certain that it did not possess 
the importance in ancient times that it did in the middle ages and even now retains. It 
is, in fact, famous for only one thing: it was the birthplace of the great poet Virgil. 
Very little is known of this famous man. His father was the hired servant of a travel¬ 
ing merchant, by whom he was much thought of on account of his faithful services. 
The merchant’s regard must have been very strong, for he gave his daughter in marriage 
to Virgil’s father, and with her was another gift; this was the charge of a small farm 
near Mantua, which he finally inherited, and left to his poet son when he died. Virgil 
was born at Andes, a small village, three miles distant from Mantua, but his home 
seems to have been in the latter place. His father gave him all the advantages of edu¬ 
cation he was able to, and the son was fond of study, so that he soon excelled in his 
knowledge of the literature both of his own country and of Greece^ When Virgil was 
about thirty-three years of age he removed to Rom'e, where he became the friend of the 
emperor Augustus, who gave him enough money to enable him to live comfortably and 
devote his time to writing. While he was at work upon his great poem, the y^neid^ 
Augustus expressed a strong desire to hear parts of it read, and the poet read aloud 
the sixth book before the emperor and his sister Octavia. On hearing one par¬ 
ticularly pathetic passage of the poem, Octavia fairited, and on reviving she ordered 
the reader to be rewarded with a certain amount of money for each line, so impressed 


56 


Cities of the Ancic7it World. 


was she with the work. Virgil died in his fifty-first year, 19 b.c., and was buried at 
Naples. 

Arpinum was a very ancient and celebrated city of the Volscians, in the central part 
of Italy. It was a city of importance at a very early period, and during the Roman 
republic it was a flourishing town; but its chief celebrity was derived from its having 



CICERO. 


been the birthplace of two of the most illustrious men in Roman history, Caius Marius 
and Marcus Tullius Cicero. The writings of Cicero are full of allusions to his native 
place; he tells us that the inhabitants had many good qualities, although they were rustic 
and simple in their manners. Cicero’s father left him an estate in the town, on the banks 
of the little river Fibrenus, where his favorite villa was situated, on an island surrounded 
liy the waters of that beautiful stream. 



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Ravenna. 


57 


Ravenna was in the northeast part of Italy, on or near the coast of the Adriatic Sea; 
it was a very important city in ancient times. Surrounded on all sides by marshes, lakes, 
or lagoons, it was a peculiarly situated city, something like Venice; it was built actually 
in the water, for its houses were raised on piles, and it was cut in all directions by 
canals, which were crossed either by bridges or ferries. The marshes were connected 
with the sea, so that the canals were scoured every day by the ebb and flow of the tides. 
It was strongly defended by nature, and occupied so secluded a position that prisoners 
were often brought here for confinement, and for the same reason many of the emperors 
made it their chosen place of residence. The presence of the court added greatly to the 
prosperity and splendor of the city; but in spite of fine public works it was not a pleasant 
place to live in on account of the lack of fresh water, the muddiness of the canals, the 
swarms of gnats, and the continual croaking of frogs. 



/ 













ASIA MINOR. 


T he great peninsula ot Western Asia, between the Euxine or Black Sea and the Medi¬ 
terranean, was known in ancient days as Asia Minor. The name, which means 
the smaller Asia, was given by the Greeks, who made it the seat of their civiliza¬ 
tion before they came to have their great dominions in the islands of the “ Great Sea.” 
From the times of Semiramis, the powerful Eastern conqueror, who lived about 2000 b.c. 
to the time of Osman, about 1300 a.d., the greatest events of the world occurred here. 
It was the chief battle-ground of the Medes and Persians with the Scythians, of the 
Greeks and Persians, of the Romans with Mithridates and the Parthians, of the 
Arabs, Seljuks, Mongols and Osmans with the weak Byzantine empire. It was here that 
the mastery of the whole civilized world was fought for by Alexander the Great, and by 
the Romans; and that eastern trade and grand old Oriental cultivation built up great 
cities whose fame and influence will last as long as the world. The country was divided 
off into many provinces, sometimes independent, sometimes dependent on other states. 

One of these was the division of Cilicia, whose chief city was Tarsus, beautiful, rich, 
and celebrated as one of the most important places in all Asia Minor. Situated on 
both sides of the river Cydnus, it stood in the midst of a fair and productive plain, 
about ten miles from the Mediterranean Sea. It was a great market for traffic between 
Syria, Egypt, and the central region of the East. From all parts of Cilicia wheat, bar¬ 
ley, cotton, copper, and gall-nuts, from which ointment was made, were brought to 
Tarsus and from there sent all over the known world. Besides this trade in grain and 
metals, there was an immense traffic in slaves. Almost all the household servants of 
the Romans were men, women, and children stolen from Cilicia and sold in the market¬ 
places of Tarsus to slave-dealers, who carried them to Rome. Finally the people would 
stand this cruel traffic no longer, and slaves ceased to be bought and sold in the city 
itself; but they were still stolen from the country round about and taken to the island 
of Delos, not far from Tarsus, where vast numbers were disposed of every day. Most 
of the slave-dealers were residents of Tarsus, and made large fortunes by selling their 
countrymen. The Cilicians were skillful sailors. Noble fleets of many vessels were 
fitted out at Tarsus, and used both for war and piracy; for the people not only hired 
out their naval forces to fight for other nations, but they were great pirates. Their 
ships sailed all over the Mediterranean Sea in search of vessels laden with treasure, and 


6o 


Cities of the Ancie^it World. 


the sailors were so well trained that they seldom had any trouble in robbing and murder¬ 
ing their victims. The crews wore steel helmets on their heads, and carried light 
shields made of rawhide; they wore only one garment, a sort of shirt made of wool, 
and when they made their attacks each man was armed with two javelins and a short, 
curved sword; they were terrible enemies to fight against. All the nations on the great 
sea-coast suffered from their merciless robbery and persecution. At last the Romans 
sent out Pompey the Great, who succeeded in driving the pirates off the sea; he pushed 
them hard, and when the strife was over ten thousand of them were killed and twenty 
thousand were taken prisoners. In spite of this, many of these desperate men survived 
and continued their robber lives in the mountain regions of Cilicia. Nearly all the 
wealth which came from these piracies, as well as that which was obtained by commerce, 
was poured into Tarsus, which, the historian Xenophon tells us, was a large and popu¬ 
lous city under the rule of a Persian governor. 

Later on, when the city was subject to the early Roman emperors, it was renowned 
for culture as well as commerce, and its zeal for learning was, at that time, equal to that 
of Athens and Alexandria. The people became less fierce and warlike, and paid more 
attention to art and to providing themselves with luxuries. In the year 42 b.c. it was a 
grand metropolis, filled with noble buildings and ornamented in a most superb fashion. 
It had many mosques, or places of worship, and market-places; these were not a col¬ 
lection of booths or stalls filled with meat and vegetables, such as we call markets, but 
handsome open squares where people met and talked over the affairs of fhe day or held 
meetings. Parts of one of the magnificent churches which adorned the city, remain to 
this day. The river Cydnus flowed through the middle of the city, and was a great 
artery of trade and a source of wealth; but its waters were extremely cold, unfit for bath¬ 
ing. It is said that Alexander the Great was made very ill from the effects of a plunge 
into the stream when over-heated. But the people did not bathe in the water as they 
found it in the river; they built public baths, and cultivated much the same bathing 
habits as the Greeks and Romans in other cities. These baths were among the most 
magnificent buildings of Tarsus; all the rooms were ornamented with mosaics and 
adorned with paintings and statuary. The tanks were arranged so that bathers could 
use water of any temperature they wished; after the bath, the body was rubbed with 
ointments and perfumes; nearly all the baths had a large room set apart for exercise. 
When only one bath a day was desired, it was taken just before the principal meal; but 
many of the people bathed several times during the day. .' 

About this time, when the city was most prosperous, it became the residence of the 
famous Roman general Marc Anthony. Cleopatra, the beautiful and wealthy queen of 
Egypt visited him there, and in order to impress him with her beauty and wealth, she 
resolved to come with great pomp. She made magnificent preparations, and sailed up 
the river into the heart of the city in a most sumptuous vessel. The stern was covered 



Troy, or Ilium. 


6i 


with gold, the sails were of purple, and the oars were silver. The oarsmen pulled them 
through the Cilician waters in time to the music of flutes, and pipes, and harps. The 
beautiful queen, adorned to imitate Venus, lay under a canopy of the most exquisite 
workmanship embroidered with gold; while boys stood fanning her on each side of her 
couch. Her maid-servants helped to steer the vessel and scatter sweet-smelling incense 
about the shores. 



Cleopatra’s journey. 


“ The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne, 

Burned on the water: the poop was beaien gold: 

Purple the sails, and so perfumed that 

The winds were love-sick with them: the oars were silver. 

Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke. 

* * * The city cast 

Her people out upon her; and Anthony 
, Enthroned i’ the market-place, did sit alone. 

Whistling to the air; which but for vacancy, 

Had gone to gaze on Cleopatra too, 

And made a gap in nature.” 

The Roman nobleman was as much impressed by all this magnificence as the 
queen could have wished; he became Cleopatra’s devoted slave, and made her 
rich gifts of land and treasure. Tarsus was famed also for its great men. It was 
the birthplace of St. Paul, of Antipater the stoic, Athenodorus the philosopher, and of 
several Greek poets and grammarians. The emperor Julian was buried in a magnificent 
tomb near the city. 

The very ancient city of Troy, or Ilium, was situated in the northwest part of Asia 
Minor. All that we know of it is from the partly fabulous descriptions of ancient poets 











Z2 Cities of the Ancmit World. 

?nd from recent investigations; until these discoveries modern scholars thought that no 
such city existed; but it has been proved that there was. They say that it lay at the 
foot of Mount Ida, far enough from the ^ 2 gean Sea to allow the movements of a large 
army upon a plain before it. Another smaller plain lay behind it. In front of the city, 
flowing through the plain, were two rivers, the Simois and Scamander, which ran parallel 
for some distance, and then, uniting, emptied into the Hellespont. This is the strait 
which divides Europe from Asia. The ancients spoke of it as a wide river flowing 
through thickly-wooded banks into the Hilgean Sea. It is about one mile in breadth. 
The plain in which Troy was situated is seven miles in width and eighteen or twenty 
miles long; near the sea it is level, but in front of the site of the ancient city it is high 
and steep. The rivers Simois and Scamander form slender threads of bright water flow¬ 
ing through it and disappearing in the sea. There is a city Troja, which we read of in 
the traditions of the Trojan war; but that is not the Troy or Ilium of history, which was 
founded about the beginning of the seventh century b.c. The former is sometimes 
called Old Ilium, the latter New Ilium. The history of the Old Troy tells us that the 
god Neptune built its walls, and that years after a Trojan prince, named Paris, carried 
off a Greek woman called Helen from her home in Sparta and took her to Troy. Be¬ 
cause of this the Greeks made war upon the Trojans. The latter were driven within the 
vails of their city, and nine years were spent by the immense Grecian army in besieging 
It. It was captured and utterly destroyed in the tenth year, which is supposed to have 
been about 1184 b.c. 

There was in Troy a celebrated statue of the goddess Minerva, called the Palladium. 
It was said to have fallen from Heaven, and the people believed that the city could not 
be taken so long as this statue remained within it. Ulysses and Diomed, two of the 
leaders of the Greeks, entered the city in disguise and succeeded in stealing the Palla¬ 
dium, which they carried off to the Grecian camp. But Troy still held out, and the 
Greeks began to despair of ever subduing it by force, and by the advice of Ulysses re¬ 
solved to resort to stratagem. They pretended to be making preparations to abandon 
the siege, and a portion of their ships were withdrawn and lay hid behind a neighboring 
island. They then built an immense wooden horse, which they said was intended as an 
offering to Minerva, but in fact was filled with armed men. The remaining Greeks then 
went to their ships and sailed away, as if for final departure. The Trojans, seeing the 
encampment broken up and the fleet gone, thought the enemy had given up the siege. 
The gates were thrown open, and the whole population went out; they held a great 
rejoicing because they could once more go freely over the plain so long occupied by the 
' armies of another nation. The great horse was the chief object of curiosity. All won¬ 
dered what it could be for. Some wanted to take it into the city as a trophy; others 
felt afraid of it. Among these was Laocoon, the priest of Neptune, who told the citi¬ 
zens it was madness to take the horse into the city, and advised them to be on their 









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Troy, or Ilium. 


65 


guard against Grecian fraud. Just at this moment a group of people appeared dragging 
forward a Greek prisoner. Speechless with terror he was brought before the chiefs, 
who promised that his life should be spared on condition of his answering truthfully the 
■questions asked him. He told them that his name was Sinon, and that, through the 
hatred of Ulysses he had been left behind by his countrymen at their departure. He 
said the wooden horse was an offering to Minerv^a, and that it had been made of such a 
huge size for the purpose of preventing its being carried within the city; for a prophet 
had told them that if the Trojans took possession of it, they would surely triumph over 
the Greeks. This story completely deceived the people, and they began to think how 
they might get the monstrous horse into the city, when suddenly a wonderful thing hap¬ 
pened. There appeared coming over the sea two immense serpents. They came upon 
the land, and the crowd fled in all directions. The serpents advanced directly to the 
:spot where Laocoon stood with his two sons. They first attacked the children, winding 
round their bodies and breathing in their faces. The father attempting to rescue them 
was next seized and crushed in the serpents’ coils. He struggled to tear them away, 
but they strangled him and his children in their poisonous folds. This event was looked 
upon as a clear indication that the gods were angry with Laocoon for what he had 
advised about the horse, and the people dragged the great statue into the city with songs 
of triumph, and the day closed with feasting and merry-making. In the night the armed 
men, who were shut up in the body of the horse, were let out by Sinon, and they opened 
the gates of the city to their friends, who had returned under cover of the darkness. 
The city was set on fire, the people, overcome with feasting and sleep, were killed, and 
Troy was completely subdued. Ulysses, the author of this plot, had many adventures 
on his way home from Troy to his home Ithaca in Greece. He went through perils on 
land and sea, escaped from the Cyclopes, a hideous race of one-eyed giants into whose 
power he and his companions fell, got the better of the sorceress Circe, who turned some 
of Ulysses’ men into swine, sailed through the whirlpools where were the monsters Scylla 
and Charybdis, where he lost some of his sailors, and after years of wandering and adven¬ 
ture, at last arrived safely at Ithaca. 

Troy was built with great magnificence. There were stately palaces and high walls 
lining the streets, with altars and fountains. Their household utensils were finely made, 
and the ornaments used to decorate the furniture and for dress were of beautiful work¬ 
manship. Behind the city proper there rose a hill, on top of which was an acropolis, or 
fortified place. This contained all the temples of the gods and the palaces of the kings. 
The city must have had many gates, but only one is spoken of by the ancients, and 
that is directly opposite the Acropolis, opening into the plain before the city. The walls 
of Troy are described as lofty and strong, and flanked by towers. At New Ilium the 
goddess Athena, or Minerva, was worshiped by generals before going to war. It was 
built by some of the kings of Lydia, and was enlarged and beautified, first by Alexander 
5 


66 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

the Great, and afterward by Julius Caesar. It is not known exactly whether it occupied 
the same site as Old Ilium or not. 

Ephesus was situated in Lydia, a country in the western part of Asia Minor. The 
soil around the city was well watered and fruitful. The whole country was one of the 
most fertile in the world, with a mild and healthful climate, and almost every natural 
advantage excepting that it was never long free from severe earthquakes that sometimes 
made great havoc. The rich territory, central situation, and the energetic people gave 
Ephesus great prosperity. It was said to have been founded by the Amazons, a race of 
warlike women who lived in Caucasus, the boundary region between Europe and Asia. 
The chief glory of the city was its magnificent temple of Diana; around the shrine of 
this goddess Persians, Lydians, Greeks and Romans bowed in worship, and there never 
was a temple in the world that displayed so much pomp and magnificence. Diana had 
three names. She was supposed to be called Luna in heaven, where she was the moon* 
on the earth she was known as Diana, and in hell the ancients said that she was Proser¬ 
pine. As Diana, she was the goddess of hunting; ancient artists and poets picture her 
as armed with a bow and arrows, and with maid-servants following her. She was often 
represented as running with her garments flying back and tied about her. On her 
shoulder she had a quiver, and held either a javelin or a bow in her right hand. As 
Luna, or the moon, Diana was represented with a crescent on her forehead, armed with 
a bow and arrows, in a silver chariot drawn by two horses, the one white, the other black. 
Sometimes she carried a torch, indicating that her office was to give light to the world. 
As Proserpine she appeared with three heads; among other offerings made to her in this 
form was honey. Before the great temple was built, the Ephesians worshiped a small 
ebony statue of Diana, which they believed was sent down from heaven. As this figure 
became decayed by age, it was proppec by rods of iron; it was first placed upon a block 
of beech or elm wood, but in later times was kept in a shrine, adorned with all that 
wealth could give. As the veneration for the goddess increased in Ephesus, the mag¬ 
nificent temple was built on the spot where the sacred image had stood. This temple 
was seven times ruined and restored at the expense of all Asia. During the night on 
which Alexander the Great was born, in 356 b.c. the temple was burned to the ground 
by a man called Erostratus, who said he did it for no other reason than to make himself 
famous. It w'as rebuilt this time by the people of Ephesus alone, the women contribut¬ 
ing their jewelry and ornaments; this time it was two hundred and twenty years before 
the temple was finished. It was then four hundred and twenty-five feet long and two- 
hundred and twenty feet wide, being the largest of the Greek temples, and four times 
as large as the Parthenon at Athens. It was magnificently decorated with sculptures 
and paintings; the statue of Diana was of ivory, furnished with exquisitely wrought 
golden ornaments. Some of the medals and coins of Ephesus bore a representation of 
the temple, which was counted one of the seven wonders of the world. A criminal flying 


Ephesus. 


67 



from justice could take refuge within a certain distance from the temple, and be free 
from punishment; consequently, one portion of the city was entirely inhabited by these 
refugees, and was called the rogues’ quarter. 

Many other gods and goddesses had their temples at Ephesus, and were worshiped 
there. Nothing could surpass the beauty and style of the decorations inside these build¬ 
ings. The shrines and walls were ornamented by 
Praxiteles, the sculptor, and his son Parrhasius, 
and Apelles the painter, who were the most 
famous artists of ancient times. Timorete, the 
first female artist on record, finished in Ephesus 
a picture of Diana, the most ancient in the city. 

Parrhasius was the first to give painting true pro¬ 
portion, the details of the face, and the elegance 
of the hair. He was in the habit of inscribing 
sentences on his own productions, saying that 
in his works the art of painting had reached its 
highest excellence. The story is told of him 
that he once tortured a slave in order to obtain 
the proper expression of suffering for a face in 
the picture called “ Prometheus Chained.” 

The Ephesians, though they were barbarians, 
and were different from the Greeks both in their 
language and in their religion, were nevertheless 
very gifted people. They cultivated the arts, 
and before they w'ere conquered by the Persians 
under Cyrus the Great, in 546 b.c., they were 
industrious, brave, and warlike. Cyrus forbade 
them the use of arms and caused them to prac¬ 
tice dancing and singing, instead of cultivating 
the arts of war. This mode of life gradually 
made them weak and unmanly; but their com¬ 
mercial industry continued, and was a source of 
great prosperity. The Ephesians managed the 
affairs of the city by a senate and a general ho.mer. 

assembly of the people, which appointed officers 

to administer the laws. The inhabitants of the city were, in early times, very super¬ 
stitious and made much use of sorcery and the magic arts. “ Ephesian Letters” were 
spells or sentences which they used to write upon their girdles, or wear upon different 
parts of their bodies as charms against evil, or by which the power of the gods might be 








68 


Cities of the Aneie^it World. 

called upon. Beside the temples the buildings of Ephesus included a large theater, a 
gymnasium, elegant private houses built on terraces rising one above the other, and 
many handsome tombs. 

North of Ephesus, also in the province of Lydia, was Smyrna; these two cities were 
called the eyes of Asia Minor. The latter was a very ancient town founded by an 
Amazon, who gave it her name. It was a place of small importance until it was extended 
and beautified by the great general Lysimachus, about 150 b .c., when it became a most 
magnificent city, and certainly the finest in all Asia Minor. The streets were hand¬ 
some, well paved, and drawn at right angles, with several squares; stately porticoes stood 
in various places, and the city had a public library, numerous temples and other public 
buildings. It also possessed an excellent harbor, which could be completely closed, and 
it was chiefly by this that Smyrna came to be one of the wealthiest and most flourishing 
commercial cities of Asia, with a wide-spread fame for learning from its schools of 
rhetoric and philosophy. The view from the Acropolis of the city was truly grand. 
Toward the interior the valleys and mountains stretched as far as the eye could reach;, 
many celebrated cities could be seen, places where great events of history happened. 
In the opposite direction the islands of Greece lay in full view; while just at hand flowed 
the little river Meles, on whose shady banks Homer was said to have been born. Several 
places have claimed to be the birthplace of Homer, but the inhabitants of Smyrna 
were so sure of their right to this honor, that they built a temple to the great poet; it 
was a splendid edifice containing a statue of Homer. They even showed a cave near their 
city, where the poet was said to have composed his works. But it was only one claimant 
and there were 

‘ Seven ancient cities claimed great Homer dead, 

In which the living Homer begged his bread.” 

The Smyrna people used to tell the story of the great poet’s life in a way of their 
own. They say he became a schoolmaster, and first wrote his poems in the city; he 
was then invited by a foreign merchant to travel with him; and while on his travels in 
Ithaca he was attacked by a disease in the eyes, which made him totally blind; so that 
he composed and recited verses wherever he went afterward to gain a living. The story 
goes on to say that while on a voyage from Smyrna to Athens, Homer landed at los, 
an island in the ^Egean Sea, and there died of vexation at being unable to solve a 
riddle asked him by some young fishermen, in answer to his question if they had caught 
any fish. “As many as we caught,” said they, “we left; as many as we did not catch, 
we carry.” los became celebrated as the burial place of the great poet, and some 
people believe that his tomb has been found there. 

A little more than fifty miles east from Smyrna was Sardis, the ancient capital 
of Lydia. Croesus, the richest man of those days, and perhaps of any time, lived 
in Sardis, and at one time ruled over thirteen nations. He ascended the throne in a 



ROMAN TYPES AND COSTUMES 













































Miletus. 


69 


time of peace and prosperity, and was heir to untold treasures. He seemed to be suc¬ 
cessful in everything he undertook and soon became a mighty monarch. The vast 
wealth which he inherited he increased by the tribute of conquered countries, by 
seizing private property, and by gold which was dug from the sands of the Pactolus, 
a stream which flowed near Sardis. We may form some idea of his wealth from 
the offerings which he made to the gods and placed in the temples. Herodotus, 
the historian, saw a hundred and seventeen ingots of solid gold of great weight laid 
up at Delphi. He also saw in various parts of Greece other rich offerings, all of 
gold, which had been placed in the temples by this wealthy monarch; among them 
the life-size statue of a lion, a wine bowl of the same weight as the lion, and a 
statue of a female, of gigantic size, said to be Croesus’ baking woman. Solon, a 
famous law-giver of Athens, and one of the seven wise men of Greece, visited Sardis 
at the request of Croesus. When he was brought before the king he found him richly 
dressed, and ornamented with the most curious and valuable adornments imaginable, 
beautiful in colors, elegant in designs of gold and jewels. Solon was not at all surprised, 
nor did he pay the compliments which were expected to the king. Croesus then ordered 
his treasures to be opened, and his magnificent apartments and furniture to be shown, 
and when Solon had seen it all Croesus asked him if he had even beheld a happier man 
than he. Solon answered that he had, and named some poor and worthy people of 
Athens who had lived pure and good lives and died happily; and said that no man could 
be called truly happy until he was dead. 

The city of Sardis was at first built in a rude manner, and the houses were covered 
with dry reeds, so light that a large part of the city was repeatedly destroyed by fire; 
but the Acropolis, the stronghold for defending the town, was built upon an almost inac¬ 
cessible rock, and surrounded with a triple wall. At the side of the steep hill on which 
the Acropolis stood was a large theater surrounded by many smaller buildings, and in 
the valley was a splendid gymnasium and a still more splendid palace, the residence of 
Croesus. One of the tombs in Sardis was circular in shape, and measured eleven hun¬ 
dred and forty feet in diameter. The customs and pursuits of the inhabitants of the city 
were similar to those of the Ephesians, but it is probable that there was more magnifi¬ 
cence and luxury in Sardis than in Ephesus. 

Miletus was situated in the northern part of Caria, on the western coast of Asia 
Minor. It stood at the entrance of a bay into which the Maeander River flowed, and 
had four harbors, protected by a group of islands. It was celebrated as an industrial 
and commercial city, and in early Grecian history it was the foremost maritime power, 
extending its commerce and colonies all over the shores of the Mediterranean, the Pro¬ 
pontis, and the Euxine. At the same time it occupied a noted place among the most 
enlightened cities, being the birthplace of several philosophers and historians. Miletus, 
in its best days consisted of an inner and an outer city, each of which had its own for- 


70 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

tifications. It must have been great and beautiful, to judge from the ruins of mag¬ 
nificent temples, arches, etc., which have been unearthed. Its people were weak, 
and listless, though at one time they must have been brave and warlike. Their manu¬ 
factures of couches and other furniture were very celebrated, and their woolen cloths 
and carpets were eagerly sought for. 

Halicarnassus, originally called Zephyria, was an ancient city of Caria in Asia 
Minor, on the Ceramic Gulf. About 380 b.c. the city was under the rule of Carian 
princes, the most famous of whom was Mausolus, who restored and fortified it. He 
died in 352, and over his remains his wife caused to be raised a monument so beautiful 
that it has ever since given the name mausoleum to all magnificent tombs. It was so 
rich and beautiful, so grand and noble, that the ancients called it one of the seven won¬ 
ders of the world. The foundation was almost a square, measuring four hundred and 
seventy-two feet in circumference, and formed by quarrying into the solid rock. On 
the west side of the platform was the entrance to the inner tomb, which was closed, after 
the corpse had been carried in, by a huge stone. Behind this stone was an alabaster 
vase, and here and there in the gloomy vault were colossal statues of men and horses, 
and battle scenes were sculptured in the flinty rock. Upon the foundation a portico 
with thirty-six massive columns was built, and surmounting this was a pyramid, on the, 
summit of which was a marble statue of Mausolus. 

The plan of the city was grand and symmetrical. From the edge of the harbor the 
buildings rose on terraces formed partly by excavations from the rock, and partly by 
walls of masonry. The first terrace was crowned by the Mausoleum, or the tomb of 
Mausolus, the second by the temple of Mars. Two citadels occupied hills at the upper 
end of*the city, while the whole was enclosed by a strong and lofty wall. The palace of 
Mausolus and the temple of Venus and Mercury stood on the two points of the harbor, 
forming the extremities of the city. Halicarnassus had many attractive features, among 
which were the fountain of Salmacis and a vast theater. The water of the spring of 
Salmacis was thought to make those who drank it very lazy, but it is probable that the 
inhabitants of Halicarnassus made this an excuse for their well-known love of luxury 
and indolence. This was true of them only in their later history, however, for Herodo¬ 
tus, the historian, who was a native of Halicarnassus, wrote that the people of that region 
were once warlike and skilled in naval affairs. They were the inventors of three things 
the use of which was borrowed from them by the Greeks; they were the first to 
fasten crests on helmets, and to put figures on shields, and they invented handles for 
shields. Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus about 484 b.c., and died in Italy about 
420 B.c. He inherited a great deal of money and traveled far and wide, staying a 
long time in every country he visited, and afterward describing carefully the scenery, 
cities, temples, manners, and customs. His style of writing was beautiful and simple, 
and so high a value is placed upon his works that he is called the father of history. 


71 


Coma 71 a — Pei'ga tTi tis. 

Comana was a city of Cappadocia, in the western part of Asia Minor, on the river 
Sarus. It was celebrated in antiquity for its temple of Ma, the moon goddess, and for 
the devotion of the inhabitants to her worship. Every year there were two great pro¬ 
cessions in honor of the goddess, on which occasions the chief priest wore a diadem, and 
was considered next in dignity to the king. Over six thousand persons were continually 
engaged in the service of the temple; they were men and women owned as slaves by the 
high priest, but they could not be sold by him. The high priest was also governor of 
the city. Among other rules for preserving the purity of the place, it was forbidden to 
eat swine’s flesh within the sacred enclosure; Cleon, a robber from the eastern part of 
Asia Minor, was once made high priest by Octavianus Caesar; he broke this rule, and 
his terrible and speedy death was supposed to have been the result of his impiety. 
Comana was a large and populous city. At the processions of the goddess there was a 
vast gathering of people from the towns and country all around, men and women. The 
population was also increased by people who lived there in order to keep vows and make 
sacrifices to the goddess. The inhabitants were fond of luxury and good living, and their 
lands produced plenty of wine. 

On the other side of Asia Minor, in Mysia, was Pergamus, the place where the 
army which started from Sardis under Cyrus to subdue the king of Persia, was disbanded. 
Xenophon, the great Greek historian, has written an interesting account of the long 
march from Sardis to Cunaxa, near Babylon, where the army was defeated and Cyrus 
himself killed. From Cunaxa the Greeks began to retreat homeward, and Xenophon 
became their leader. The whole of the journey, both of the expedition and the retreat, 
is said to have taken two hundred and fifteen days’ march; and the time employed in 
both was a year and three months. The battle of Cunaxa is fully described by Xeno¬ 
phon, and is interesting as showing the mode of warfare of the troops of Asia Minor, 
who were called the Barbarians. About noon on the day of the battle, one of Cyrus’s 
officers made his appearance, riding at great speed, with his horse in a sweat, and calling 
out that Artaxerxes the king was approaching with a vast army prepared for the battle. 
Cyrus leaped down from the chariot in which he was riding, put on his breast-plate, 
mounted his horse, and taking a javelin in his hand, gave orders for all the troops to 
arm themselves and take their stations, each man in his own place. The Barbarian 
cavalry, to the number of one thousand, were placed on the right of the line of battle, 
together with the Greek peltasts, who carried only light arms and used bows and arrows 
and slings. In the center was Cyrus, and with him about six hundred cavalry, the men 
all armed with breast-plates, defenses for the thighs, and helmets, except Cyrus alone; 
who went into the fight with his head unprotected. All the horses of the cavalry that were 
with Cyrus had armor on the forehead and breast. Presently the enemy came in sight, 
and as they approached, brazen armor began to flash, and the spears and ranks became 
visible. There was a body of cavalry in white armor on the left of the enemy’s line; 


72 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


close by these were troops with wicker shields, and next to them heavy armed soldiers 
with long wooden shields reaching to their feet; then other cavalry and bowmen. In 
front of the line, at some distance apart, were chariots with sharp scythes projecting from 
the hubs of the wheels, and under the driver’s seat, pointing to the ground. At first the 
forces of Cyrus were victorious, and pursued the enemy for some distance; but becom¬ 
ing separated in this way, Cyrus was left almost alone, and was attacked and killed. 
His death discouraged the Greek forces, and they abandoned the expedition and re¬ 
treated homeward. When they reached Pergamus, the captains, the generals and the 
soldiers gave Xenophon many rich gifts for his bravery and skill in leading the army back. 
Pergamus was an ancient city, situated in a most beautiful district; three lovely rivers 
were in its vicinity, and one, the Selinus, flowed through the city itself, while another 
washed its walls. Pergamus was originally a fortress of great natural strength, being 
situated on the summit of a hill, round the foot of which there were at that time no 
houses. Afterward, however, a city arose at the foot of the hill, and the latter then 
became the Acropolis. Lysimachus, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, chose 
Pergamus as a place of security for his treasures, which amounted to nine millions of 
dollars. In 197 b.c. the city was one of the most splendid places in Asia; it had spa¬ 
cious walks and gardens, public buildings, and a library. One temple was built which 
could be seen for miles out upon the HUgean Sea, and everything was made with an 
unusual degree of splendor. The library of Pergamus, which is said to have consisted 
of no less than two hundred thousand volumes, was given by Anthony to Cleopatra. 
The inhabitants were fond of games and sports of all kinds; they had horse races and 
cock-fights, and they built an immense amphitheater over the river Selinus with arrange¬ 
ments to flood the arena for rowing matches and swimming contests. The city was cele¬ 
brated for its manufacture of ointments, pottery, and parchment. 

In the central part of Asia Minor, in the province of Galatia, was Ancyra. The 
position of this town made it a place of great trade, for it lay on the road between 
Byzantium and Syria, and was constantly filled with merchants and travelers. The hills 
about the city gave fine pasture, and the inhabitants raised great herds of goats and 
sold their fine, silky hair in large quantities. The chief monument of antiquity was the 
marble temple of Augustus Caesar, whom the people of Ancyra regarded as a god. The 
city also had a rich museum. The name Ancyra was said to come from the fact that 
an anchor (the Greek name is ancyra), was found on the spot where the city stood. 

Patara was a flourishing commercial city on the southwest coast of Lycia. This 
place was large, and had a good harbor. Patara was most celebrated in ancient times 
for its temple and oracle of Apollo. This oracle spoke its prophecies through a priest¬ 
ess, only through a certain period of the year, said to have been the six winter months. 
The priestess sat at the bottom of a deep, circular pit, whence she delivered whatever 
the oracle had to say. 



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GREECE. 


A ncient civilization reached its highest point at Athens, the capital of the Greek 
or Hellenic nation. With the exception of Christianity, nearly everything that 
the modern world possesses has come from these people, who raised themselves 
from barbarism to a grandly organized nation. They were the most remarkable people 
that ever lived. They originated the plan of political freedom; they first wrote regular 
histories, which stand perfect of their kind even now; they excelled in oratory, poetry, 
sculpture, and architecture. They founded the science of mathematics, of physics, of 
true politics, and the philosophy of life and human nature. In all these things they 
took the first.steps, and in doing that gave the world their grandest legacy of all, which 
is freedom of thought. Asia Minor, Egypt, and Phoenicia may have given the Greeks 
some of the ideas to start with, but the Hellenes began the development and set them 
going. In two centuries they gave the world such an intellectual impetus that it has 
never stopped; and yet, in the twenty centuries since that time, all the nations of the 
world combined have not added as much more to the store of science and knowledge of 
principles. The chief seat of the Grecian power was upon the lower part of the most 
easterly of the three enormous peninsulas, Spain, Italy, and Greece, which project south¬ 
ward into the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike Spain, and far different from Italy, the third 
peninsula was a vast triangle. Its base extended from the top of the Adriatic to the 
mouth of the river Danube and its two sides were washed by the sea. Being most 
favorably situated, it very naturally became a great center of attraction when the Medi¬ 
terranean was the world’s great highway of commerce and civilization. Its eastern shore 
was bathed by the JEgean Sea, which is studded with many islands almost linking it by 
land to Asia Minor; on the west but a narrow channel separated it from Italy, and on the 
south the open highway of the sea was skirted by the most fertile portion of Africa. 
The Hellenic Peninsula had in itself grand advantages of mountains, lakes, rivers, and 
naturally protected coasts. While it is one of the most mountainous countries of Europe, 
the surfaces are so arranged with numerous small plains, either entirely surrounded by 
limestone mountains or open only to the sea, that the land itself almost established the 
people into many small independent states, which by the great chain of mountains form¬ 
ing the northern boundary was defended against other tribes or nations. In these small 

75 


Cities of the Ancie^it World. 


76 

plains the people built their cities. The mountains which separated one from another 
being lofty and rugged, the community grew up in solitary independence, and formed its 
own character. So the Grecian states grew strong and hardy; they were protected from 
foreign invasion by mountains whose passes were so sharp and dangerous that a handful of 
resolute men could keep out an invading army. But thus guarded against more powerful 
enemies, the Hellenes did not grow up a wild isolated people, for their peninsula had a 
wonderful extent of sea coast on all sides, and many bays and inlets reached far into 
the land, affording easy intercourse with one another and with the rest of the world. 

The most famous of these provinces was Attica, in about the center of the country, 
bordered by an arm of the /Egean Sea on the east and the Saronic Gulf on the west. 
It was itself a peninsula and the most southeasterly part of Greece. It was in the midst 
of a hill-encircled plain near the western shore of this province that Athens stood. The 
city was built upon the rising and falling ground of a beautiful plain, studded here and 
, there by rocky hills. The highest and steepest of these was the center of the city. It 
was called the Acropolis or upper city, and even more than the Capitoline Hill of Rome, 
was the chief of all places within the walls. Its rocky sides rose almost perpendicularly 
to the height of a hundred and fifty feet. Around the edge of the summit there ran a 
line of fortifications enclosing an uneven plain eleven hundred and fifty feet long and 
five hundred broad. This was the beginning of Athens as a city; it was tfie greatest of 
all Greek citadels, the sacred enclosure of temples, and the watch-tower of the whole 
Attic plain.j7 Here the grandest pieces of Athenian architecture stood, and here now their 
remains lie more noble in a ruined condition than any other architecture in Europe. The 
enclosure of the Acropolis was entered through the Propylaea, or vestibule overlooking 
the city. There was a vast gate of pure white marble occupying all the western end of 
the hill. This is the only side upon which it has ever been possible to reach the sum¬ 
mit. The frontage of the Propylaea was a hundred and sixty feet, or a little more than 
twice the width of Broadway in New York. ■, So the magnificent building was a massive 
fortification as well as a gateway. But beside these objects it was also built to be one 
of the principal adornments of the citadel. It was the most magnificent thing in Athens, 
and displayed the greatest splendor of all antique art. The chief part of it consisted of 
a large square enclosed by walls on the right and left, but opening toward both the city 
and the Acropolis by means of porticoes. On either side of the central colonnades which 
"^med the grand entrance, were lofty wings of stately columns with rich frieze and other 
beautiful decorations; these stood forward toward the w^est, while a great double flight 
of splendid marble steps led up the slanting rock of the hill, from the city to the center 
section of the Propylaea; between them lay a wide carriage-road, paved with large slabs 
of marble, chiseled with grooves for the wheels of the carts which carried the splendid 
peplosoi Athens in the religious processions. This road also extended through the main 
entrance of the gate, and led up to the temple. Behind the fa 9 ade of Doric columns 








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79 


was a deep vestibule, with slender columns dividing it into three aisles or compartments 
and supporting the roof. The ceiling was laid upon marble beams most beautifully- 
decorated. At the further end of this stately magnificent hall, five doors or gates led 
into a back portico, fronted with a Doric colonnade and pediment above, the same size 
as those of the western or outer portico. The whole space was covered with slender 
marble cross-pieces, which spanned the naves and carried a rich and graceful casket-work. 
The interiors of the wings were adorned with paintings by the greatest artists of the times. 
In the northern part there was the celebrated paintings by Polygnotus from Homer’s 
Iliad and Odyssey. These poems were looked upon by the Greeks with as much rever¬ 
ence as we have for the Scriptures. The surface of the hill-top was naturally uneven; 
but the inconvenience of this was overcome by steps and paved slopes. One step below 
the inner portico lay the level of the adjacent parts of the extensive Acropolis platform. 

Nearly opposite the Propylaea stood a colossal bronze statue of Pallas; it was one of 
the first things the Athenians saw after entering the gateway. With the pedestal it was 
about seventy feet high, towering above every other object on the Acropolis, and visible 
from distant points on land or ships at sea. It represented the goddess armed and ready 
for battle, and was called by the Greeks Athena Promachus, the “champion goddess.’’ 
Numerous holy statues, altars, groups of buildings, and other ornaments filled the space 
with artistic splendor, above all of which rise two grand structures which were beautiful 
beyond description, and more sacred to the entire Greek nation than almost any other 
places in the world. The nearest of these was a temple called the Erechtheum, on the 
northern side of the Acropolis. It was built in the Ionic style of Greek architecture, and 
its apartments were more complicated than ordinary temples because of the manner in 
which the divine services in it were held. It was the most venerated of all the temples 
in Athens, and was connected with the oldest rites in the religious history of the city. 
The western end was taken up by a wall with three windows between the ornamental 
columns. At the upper corner was a gracefully proportioned portico, with a handsome 
entablature and pediment surrounding the roof, which was borne by six tall, slender and 
richly decorated Ionic columns. Beyond this a beautiful door led into the sanctuary, 
which was in the shape of a large oblong divided into half, and distinctly separated by a 
cross-wall. The portico doors opened into a sort of corridor, with a small hall at the 
other end, corresponding to the portico. Around this room stood rows of caryatids, 
representing Athenian maidens, upholding the ceiling. From the corridor three door¬ 
ways led into the cella or temple hall of the Erechtheum, where the shrines and statues 
of Neptune and other gods stood. The other main hall, corresponding to this in size, 
but reached through a colonnaded portico extending across the eastern end of the build¬ 
ing, was devoted to Pallas Athene or Minerva. This temple was not built for the wor¬ 
ship of Pallas, but was placed under his protection, being the store-house of the sacred 
treasures of the city. It was called the Erechtheum, from a tradition that Erechtheus, a 


8 o 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

mythic king of Greece, had been buried on the spot where the temple stood. The sanc¬ 
tuary that was devoted to the worship of Pallas stood opposite the Erechtheum, and with 
the Propylaea was the most imposing edifice on the Acropolis. In stately elegance and 
magnificent proportions it crowned the highest point on the hill, “one of the most per¬ 
fect, if not the most perfect, monument of Greek architecture.” The Parthenon, the 
Greeks called it, or the “virgin’s shrine,” for Pallas was also known as Parthenos or 
the virgin; Minerva was the name given her by the Romans. She was most devotedly 
worshiped at Athens, and for that reason was called Pallas Athene, or Pallas of Athens, 
and sometimes she was referred to merely as Athene. She was the warrior goddess 
of wisdom, art, and peace, for the Greeks said that in waging a successful war she brought 
about peace. All that the Attic people deemed most desirable in military power or 
civilized arts Athene was patroness of, while she was believed to watch over the pros¬ 
perity of the city and the whole Attic state. The temple stood in grand and solemn 
beauty above and in full view of the peo])le. It was entirely of white marble, and the 
pavement of its peristyle or vestibule was on a level with the capitals—or tops—of the 
columns in front of the inner portico of the Propylgea. The marble came from Mount 
Pentelicus, one of the richest quarries in the whole country, which had in every part 
rarer veins of this material for sculptor and builder than almost any other place in the 
ancient or the modern world. The shape of the Parthenon was a regular oblong, stand¬ 
ing above a flight three steps, and with a lofty row of massive Doric columns running all 
the way around it. Above the columns was a broad entablature; a richly sculptured 
pediment decorated front, while groups of sculpture stood on the point and the four corners 
of the roof. At each end within the outside row of columns there was an inner colon¬ 
nade, beyond which rose the walls of the temple. The second row of columns was the 
portico of the Pronaos, which was raised two steps above the peristyle. Here there were 
large and rich collections of sacred objects, made chiefly of silver, and brought from 
far and near to celebrate the holiness of the temple and of its protecting goddess. They 
were kept safely behind iron railings, and carefully locked up by the Tarniai, but were 
plainly to be seen from the outside. In the center of the Pronaos was an entrance to the 
cella, or main hall of the temple. Around the outside of this apartment was a magnifi¬ 
cent frieze of colored sculpture representing in reliefs the celebrated Panathenaic proces¬ 
sion, which was the great religious festival of the city. A large number of the slabs 
of the frieze, together with some other pieces of sculpture in relief, and some of the 
statues of the pediments, were taken to England by Lord Elgin, who sold them to the 
government. They are now known as the Elgin marbles, and are among the greatest 
objects of interest in the British Museum.* 

Over the entrance to the Pronaos an assembly of the gods was represented as looking 


*See description of London in “ Great Cities of the Modern World. 




A thens. 


8 i 


at the approaching Panathenaic procession of youths and maidens, priests and magistrates, 
oxen for sacrifices, flute players and singers, followed by high-born young Athenians on 
prancing steeds. A large door in the Pronaos led to the cella of the temple, called the 
Hecatompedos, because it measured a hundred Attic feet in length. Two rows of columns 
divided this room into three naves, and above these there was a second row of Doric 
pillars forming an upper story, reached by a .staircase from the side naves. At the 
further end stood the wonderful statue of Pallas, by the Greek sculptor Phidias. The 
majestic figure of the goddess was placed on a beautifully sculptured pedestal, and was 
one of three statues which made Phidias famous forever. The face, neck, arms, hands, 
and feet were made of ivory; the drapery, which was removable, was of pure gold, and 
every little detail of the whole work was beautifully wrought with fine carving and orna¬ 
mentation of great merit. It represented the goddess standing, clothed with a tunic 
reaching to the ankles, with a spear in her left hand, and an image of Victory in her 
right. She was girded with the cegis, and had a helmet on her head, and her shield 
rested on the ground by her side. The eyes were of a sort of marble resembling ivory. 

All the wonderful sculptures and decorations of the Parthenon, as well as other parts 
of the Acropolis, were by this famous sculptor, or by artists whom he directed. Phidias 
was the leader of a finer sort of sculpture than had ever been known before; he was the 
first to give to marble and other solid materials a graceful life-like appearance. The 
artists before him had only succeeded in making stiff representations of deities or the 
human figure; but Phidias gave to cold marble the grace and proportions of life, marked 
by a noble dignity and repose. There were two small doors in the end wall of this 
main cella, which led to a smaller room beyond, called the opisthodomos, or treasury. 
Many valuable articles, documents, and sacred offerings were kept here by certain officials, 
who had to give strict account of them. Another door led out of this chamber into a 
back hall, similar to the Pronaos, like it in appearance and also used as a place for works 
of art and pious offerings. The greatest religious ceremony held on the Acropolis or in 
any part of the Grecian capital was the Panathenaic festival. In it the whole Athenian 
population took part, making it a most brilliant and important occasion. At first the 
festivals were only horse and chariot races, but to these sports gymnastic contests were 
added, and later there were also competitions opened for poets and musicians. These 
-exhibitions of skill took place on certain days in the third year of every Olympiad, which 
was a period of four years, reckoned from the celebration of the Olympian games, which 
occurred once in four years, and was the basis of Greek time-reckoning. There were 
very gay assemblages at the contests, and feasting and congratulations over the winners 
of prizes; but the climax of the festival came with the procession on the last of the 
allotted days. In the morning the citizens of Athens, with the peasants of the neighboring 
country, assembled before the chief gate of the city, and formed themselves into a pro¬ 
cession. At its head were Kitharoidoi and Auletai; after them followed citizens on foot, 
6 


82 


Cities of the Ancieyit World. 


armed with spears and shields, and others on horseback. Next came the victors in the 
horse races, riding or leading their horses, and with them the winners of the chariot 
races, standing in their splendid cars drawn by four horses abreast. “ Priests, with 
their attendants, guarded the hekatombs to be sacrifices; old men, chosen for their dig¬ 
nified appearance, held in their hands olive branches from the holy tree of the Academy; 
other distinguished persons carried the votive offerings for the goddess; a select band 
of citizens’ daughters carried baskets containing the utensils for the sacrifice, while ephetoi 
brought valuable plate wrought by the most celebrated masters. After them followed 
the wives and daughters of the tribes protected by the Athenians, in their picturesque 
and distinctive costumes; the matrons holding in their hands oak branches, the emblem 
of Zeus Xenios, so as to make them as guests; the maidens carrying the sunshades and 
chairs of the citizens’ daughters. The center of the procession was formed by a ship 
resting on wheels, which carried for a sail the peplos of Athene, woven by Attic maidens, 
and richly embroidered, in which the old Xoanon of the goddess in the Acropolis was 
dressed. In this order the procession moved through the most splendid streets of the 
city, past the most celebrated sanctuaries where gifts were offered, round the rock of the 
Acropolis, up the roadway and the great flight of marble steps, entering at last through 
the celebrated Propyljea. Here the procession divided, to gather again on the east 
side of the Parthenon. All armor and weapons were taken off, and hymns were sung to 
the goddess by the assembled crowd, while burnt offerings blazed on the altars, and 
votive offerings were laid away in the sanctuary.” 

Below the Acropolis lay the city, surrounded by hills on all sides except the south; 
there it w’as open to the sea. Athens was an irregular oval in shape, surrounded by the 
walls of Themistocles, which made a circuit of seven and a half miles. This enclosure 
was called the Asty, or city proper, while two great walls extended to the sea coast, 
enclosing a long and broad strip of land from the city to the Phaleric Bay, reaching to 
Phalerum on the east, and the peninsula of Piraeus on the west. The coast-line at and 
between the ends of these walls was broken by several fine harbors, where the ports of 
Athens were situated. The center of commerce was at these port-towns; the center of 
all other features of Athenian life were in the Asty. It was not a magnificent city in 
all respects; the streets were narrow, crooked, and often unpaved; the mean-looking 
private houses were everywhere overshadowed by magnificent public buildings, making 
an unpleasant contrast. None of the houses were more than one story high, and this 
often projected over the.streets. The dwelling of a family in good circumstances usually 
had a narrow frontage on a dirty, undrained street; it had either a wood frame or 
was built of unburnt bricks dried in the open air. A light coat of slightly tinted plaster 
covered the outside, which had only a few small windows on the second floor, and some¬ 
times the front had no openings at all except the entrance. This was never imposing, 
but in some cases there were two columns with a small vestibule, in front of the passage 





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A thesis. 


85 


leading to the central court of the building, where a porter—one of the household slaves 
—guarded the house-door and answered the knock or call of the visitor. The rooms 
opening into the passage on either side were sometimes occupied as shops and workshops, 
but were usually appropriated to the slaves, with now and then a guest chamber. The 
court was nearly in the center of the house, and surrounded by rows of columns. An 
altar stood here, dedicated to the great protector of the family. At the further end an 
open hall opened from this court or yard, as it was called, which was a sort of half-public 
reception hall, and the boundary between the public and private life of the household. 
Here the family gathered at regular meals, and to take part in the religious ceremonies 
■of the house. In a prominent place stood the altar, on which all the events of the 
domestic life were celebrated by religious ceremonies. Offerings to Hestia, the all¬ 
preserving goddess, were duly made and celebrated upon the departure or return of any 
member of the family, when a new member—even a slave—was added, at a marriage, a 
birth, a death, and all other occasions of any unusual happening in the domestic circle. 
This was also a sort of half public reception-hall. Here the master of the house attended 
to his affairs, saw his servants, received his business calls, rested and read from his 
books of manuscripts on parchment, which were kept in boxes standing about; here he 
wrote, studied, and talked with his visitors and feasted them at table. The Greeks were 
a very hospitable nation, and provision for the entertainment of guests was an important 
•consideration with both the master and the mistress of every household. Back of this 
hall, and extending across the rear end of the dwelling, there were good-sized rooms for 
the maids, who were either at housework or spinning and weaving, under the supervision 
of the mistress. The center one of these rooms opened into the hall, and had also a 
•door\vay into the garden which lay behind the house. There was sometimes agate from 
here leading to the back street, for it was not uncommon for an Athenian dwelling to 
extend the full depth of a block. 

Opening into the colonnades at the sides of the court-yard were storerooms, bed¬ 
rooms, small rooms for servants, while the rooms opening into the open hall were for 
the master, his wife, and children. The floors of the best apartments were always paved 
and sometimes laid in mosaics; the walls were painted, and the furniture was of hand¬ 
some material and design, although far from the sumptuous taste of the old Romans. 
Men used couchesj the women and children sat in chairs; about all the furniture beside 
these things consisted of chests and tables. The houses were lighted at night by bowl¬ 
shaped oil lamps, with a wick lying in the nozzle. These made a very poor light, but 
they were rich and artistic ornaments; some of them were made to stand, while others 
hung upon costly candelabra. It was a peculiarity of the Greeks that they were contented 
to live modestly and even meanly themselves, while they saved no expense and put no 
limit upon the elegance and splendors of their temples and public buildings. These 
public spirited men of the grand old Grecian times were happy in the prosperity of the 


86 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


state, and found their joy not in private magnificence but in beautifying Athens in a 
public way; and it was not until Greek freedom and greatness had vanished, and Athens 
was under Macedonian power, that it became fashionable to have luxurious private 
houses; and then it was that the public places and temples were neglected. The later 
style of dwellings were upon the same general plan as the earlier ones; but with two or 
more courts, large and more sumptuous apartments filled with some such furniture as 
the luxurious Romans placed in their palatial dwellings. 

All the work of the Athenian household was done by slaves; they ground the corn,, 
made the bread, served and waited at table, took care of the cellars and kitchens, made, 
purchased, did errands; the maidens spun, wove and made garments. The married 
women, maidens, and young children of the Grecian households passed their lives for 
the most part in the private apartments of the home. The matron looked after the 
slaves and management of the house, and the girls were brought up to bestow their 
thoughts and nearly their entire interest on dress and domestic duties. They were not 
allowed to play or associate in any way with boys or men who did not belong to the 
family, not even when they went to public entertainments or religious ceremonies. 
The chief occupation of women, beyond preparing the meals, consisted in spinning and 
weaving. Even the wives of Athenian nobles were busily occupied in this work, either 
.using the distaff and spindle themselves or directing their daughters and slave maidens. 
There was plenty of*this to do, too, for the clothing of the many members of the house¬ 
hold was usually all made in the house. The Greek ladies had also great skill in em¬ 
broidery. There were festive clothes for holy images which were woven and embroidered; 
and the Attic maidens were obliged to weave a peplos for the statue of Athene in the 
Parthenon, for the Panathenaic procession every four years. Into this were woven the 
portraits of men who had achieved noble deeds for Athens or the Greek state. It was a 
great honor to become one of the peploi., as those whose portraits were woven into the 
peplos were called. It was deposited in the holy temple of the goddess, and kept as a 
sort of illustrated chronicle of Athens. Sixteen matrons were bound to weave a peplos 
for the statue of Here at Olympia; and other ladies were obliged to make garments or 
drapery for sacred images in other parts of the country. 

The marriage of a Greek maiden was a very business-like arrangement; the chief 
matters to be considered by an Athenian gentleman, when he proposed to marry, was 
that the lady should be as well born as himself, and have a large dowry. The law did 
not recognize any marriage of an Athenian citizen that was not with a maiden of the 
same city. Sometimes the daughter of a poor but deserving man was presented with a 
dowry by the state or by a number of citizens. At one time it was the lady who received 
rich gifts from the gentleman, but the order was soon reversed, and with the bride a 
present had to be given, partly of cash, partly in clothes, jewelry and slaves. The wed¬ 
ding and the ceremony of leading the bride from her father’s house to her new home was 


A thens. 


87 


one of the most interesting of Grecian customs; but before this several forms were care¬ 
fully observed. Offerings were made to the deities protecting marriage, and other 
special ceremonies attended to. “On the wedding-day, toward dark, after the meal at 
her parents’ home was over, the bride left the festivly adorned house, and was conducted 
by the bridegroom in a chariot to his dwelling. She sat between the bridegroom and 
his best man, who was one of the gentleman’s relatives or intimate friends. With 
the marriage-car there went a procession of wedding musicians, playing upon flutes and 
harps, while added to this all passers by shouted friendly good wishes. Behind the 
chariot the bride’s mother walked, with wedding torches, kindled at the home hearth. 
The bridegroom’s house was hung with wreaths of foliage, and at the door his mother 
awaited the procession with burning torches in her hand. The company sat down to a 
wedding meal here, if they had not already done so at the parents’ home, and after this, 
the bridal couple retired through the doorway to the hall behind the courtyard, wdiere 
for the first time the lady lifted her veil. For two days the wedding friends sent pres¬ 
ents, and during this time the lady was not seen without her veil. After that she took 
her place at the head of her husband’s household. Boys and girls of a family were 
brought up together until they were about six years old; then they were separately edu¬ 
cated; the girls were gradually taught all manner of domestic duties, but the boys were 
sent to school. A trustworthy man was chosen from among the slaves of the household 
for the boy; and this man, who was often as w'orthy a companion as could be found, 
took care of the little fellow in his w^alks, attended him to and from school, and had a 
general supervision over his ways. The Grecian slaves were not ahvays ignorant, de¬ 
graded people; many of them were in birth, education, and behavior equals with their 
masters, except that through the misfortunes of their families or their nations they were 
under bonds of servitude. So the boy’s companion, who w^as called his pedagogue, was 
able to instruct him in good manners, and lead his mind in the right direction. An 
Athenian lad had to learn early to wear his garments gracefully, to behave properly at 
table, to keep respectfully quiet in the presence of grown men, and to make room for 
them in meetings upon the street, where he must walk with his head bent, as a sign of 
modesty. The pedagogues wore a chiton and cloak, and high-laced boots, and carried 
sticks with crooked handles, while they wore beards and long hair to make themselves 
look venerable. They had nothing to do with the boys’ studies. The schools at Athens 
were not public; they were kept by private teachers, and gave instruction in music, 
gymnastics, drawing, and what was called grammata, which included reading, writing, 
and arithmetic. The master taught the children to write by forming letters, which the 
pupils copied with a pencil on their tablets. The writing materials in common use then 
were tablets covered with wax. A book was formed by joining together several leaves 
of this kind, and single or double sheets were in common use for letters, note-books, and 
other requirements of daily life. The pencils were made of metal or ivory, pointed at 


88 


Cities of the Ancie7it World. 

one end, and flattened or bent at the other; so that they could be used both for writing 
and to flatten the surface for future use. There was also a burnisher, which probably 
served to smooth the wax over a whole tablet at once The Egyptian custom of mak¬ 
ing papyrus into paper was known to the Greeks, but, like the parchment made of hides, 
was a more rare and expensive article. Ink was made of a black coloring substance, 
and kept in a metal stand that was sometimes fastened by a ring to the girdle. Red ink 
was also used, and double inkstands were made for holding the separate kinds of ink. 
Reeds were used for writing on paper and parchment; they were pointed, and split like 
our pens. A man wrote either reclining on the kline or couch, with the leaf resting on 
his bent leg, or sitting in a low arm-chair, with his writing apparatus resting on his 
knee. The boys wrote seated upon the rising steps where their regular seats at schools 
were made. After the Athenian lad had finished his elementary studies, he began to read 
the great authors of his country. His thoughts were given chiefly" to the poems of 
.Homer, which he learned by heart, and thus became familiar with the best language of 
his own time or any other age of Greece. This also filled him with a love and pride for 
his nation. The next grade he entered was for instruction in music. Almost every boy 
was taught to understand and appreciate music, and to play well upon at least one instru¬ 
ment. This was because as he grew older and took part in games, festivals, and great 
battles, he must understand music to feel inspired by it; and the inspiration of gay 
strains or martial chords would help him to do his best in whatever he was attempting; 
and in connection with this study he learned the great lyric poems of his tongue, and 
continued his education in literature. But while a boy’s mind was being carefully trained 
in common branches and higher studies, his bodily development was also attended to. 
Exercise was planned, and gymnastic apparatus arranged for the development of every 
limb. A great deal of attention was given to this when a boy was between sixteen and 
eighteen years old; and he had masters in running, wrestling, boxing, and military exer¬ 
cise to harden and develop the limbs, and to make the .man graceful and easy in his 
bearing. The gymnasia of Athens were public institutions, in which the citizens took 
great interest in addition to the support of the government. After this the young 
Athenian was prepared for the duties of life either as a citizen or a soldier. 

The state of Greece made great demands of her men; or her men in their devotion 
to the State made great demands of themselves; their public duties were of first impor¬ 
tance, and all private interests of last consideration. The result of this was a nation 
which, during the century and a half that it ruled the world,- achieved so much that was 
truly grand that it has been the model of nations ever since; yet it was composed of indi¬ 
viduals of simple habits, who strove not for wealth or fame for themselves, whose elegant 
taste and dignified bearing were not coupled with extravagance, arrogance, or tyranny; 
they all worked together as units for the advancement of a great whole. Great men 
worked in modesty and devotion for the good of the State, in the cause of art, science. 


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91 


or whatever their cause might be, and when this became successful they too had names 
of undying fame, not like Nero, because he built himself a magnificent house, but for 
the actual benefit their work wrought. It was from citizens of such spirit that the great¬ 
ness of Greece arose, and that she bequeathed to the world its models in literature, sci¬ 
ence, philosophy, oratory, sculpture, buildings, and, above all, the first example of a 
democracy—the free, self-governing state, 
where every right-minded citizen not only 
feels a personal interest but can always take 
a personal part in the affairs of the land he 
lives in; in all matters he has a share, from 
those grave questions that define its position 
among other nations to the details that 
affect the well-being of his own household 
^‘The permanent gifts bequeathed by Greece 
to the world make up the foundation of all 
that the greatest of thinkers and scholars 
have been able to accomplish since;” and 
the greatest marvel is that these people could 
do so much in such a short time; for although 
Grecian history is said to date from about 
eleven hundred years before Christ, it was 
not until 776 b.c. that the real history of 
the Hellenic nation began. Before that time 
the country with its islands was a kingdom; 
the line of rule passed from father to son, 
and the king was priest, general, and presi¬ 
dent of the popular assembly, supported and 
guided by a council of elders. This time is 
known as the Heroic Age, when the people 
belonged to various tribes, some of which 
were almost constantly at war. But, even 
then, though the Hellenes w^ere barbarians 
like all the rest of the world, they were a 
superior sort of people. They had a landed 
aristocracy; a second class of bards, priests, 

prophets, surgeons, and skilled workmen or artisans, and another middle-class of hired 
workmen, while the poorest people were mildly treated slaves. All were more to be 
respected than the earlier Oriental nations, for they were sober and temperate, dignified, 
with self-respect and good feeling for others in addition to being brave and hardy 



THEMISTOCLES. 














92 


Cities of the Anciefit JFor/d. 

They were divided into many states, and although all the tribes had a national bond of 
union each had stronger feelings for its native city than for the whole nation. This 
is the reason that the ancient history of Greece is divided into periods of power, centered 
for the time at the most flourishing city of the age. 

It is said that Athens was founded by an Egyptian named Cecrops, and that the little 
city that he built on the hill of the Acropolis was called Cecropia. One of the first 
kings was the celebrated old hero Theseus, who in the thirteenth century b.c. united 
the tribes of Attica, enlarging Athens and making it the chief seat of government. 
There were many great centers among the various states of the Grecian empire, which 
are crowded with interest, but among them all Athens stood first. In the Heroic Age 
the rulers were kings; but the people could not endure monarchy; the title of king was. 
changed to aj-chon, or ruler, and there was a senate and council which shared his power. 
Before long this office was held ten years at a time by different nobles, after that there 
was a body of nine archons elected every year, and finally there was a written set of 
laws demanded. Year by year, as the nation grew, the people became less willing to be 
ruled over, and more anxious to rule themselves. The laws they asked for were drawn 
up by one of the archons named Drace, but they were intended to check the independent 
spirit and were so severe that the whole city revolted in a little while, and another archon, 
named Solon, was called upon to make a new set of a laws. These were the foundation 
of the great democracy, and from this time, 594 b.c., the power of Attica began tO’ 
develop, although it had some reverses ; but none to weaken the State, for, when in 
the year 490 b.c. the Persian army of Darius crossed the yEgean Sea, and landed 
near Marathon on the west coast of Attica, and with much assurance marched a hun¬ 
dred thousand strong toward the city, they were met on the way, and totally defeated 
by an Athenian force of but a little more than one tenth their number. This victory 
was the beginning of a new era for Greece; it was Athens’ first step to supreme power. 
Before this Persian power had been thought invincible; now it had been defeated by a 
small army. The day had been won by Athenian skill, and Attica need no longer fear 
Darius nor Xerxes his son with all their hosts. After ten years another engagement 
came; it brought on several most bitter struggles, during which Athens was taken and 
burned by the Persians; but they were defeated in the end, and history enrolled four glo¬ 
rious conflicts, Thermopylaea, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale, in which the question between 
Greek freedom and Asiatic despotism was decided forever. To Athens, the chief vic¬ 
tor at Salamis, and to the warrior-statesman Themistocles, the first thanks were due 

The next half century was the most brilliant period of Athens’ existence, and one of 
the greatest eras in the history of the world; although a hundred years more closed 
the chapter of her grandeur, in that short time, at the most two hundred years from Solon 
to Demosthenes, she produced more greatness in every respect that all the later nations 
of the world combined. At the close of the Persian invasion Themistocles was the chief 


A thens. 


93 


man of Athens and virtually at the head of the nation. He had raised the city to its 
importance; he had successfully led its armies; and when he abandoned Athens to the 
torch-lighted Persians it was to save the state; and that gloriously won, he now came 
back, rebuilt its walls and reared a new city finer than the old. A part of the valuable 
plunder taken from Xerxes was devoted to adorning the 
new capital with splendid porticoes, groves, and gardens. 

There had long been two parties among the people; one 
was aristocratic and conservative, wishing to keep the 
government in the hands of the few old Attic families; 
the other was the democracy, believing in equal rights 
and self-government. Themistocles was the champion 
of this party, and had done a great deal to establish this 
form of government; but now that he was in so great 
power, he lost his excellence, and would have plunged 
his country in ruin, but that the people were induced by 
the aristocratic party to take a vote of what was called 
ostracism, by which he was banished. He was “the 
most sagacious, the most far-sighted, the most judiciously 
daring, the craftiest, and unfortunately also one of the 
most unprincipled of politicians; ” he would have ruined 
the glorious state that he had done so much to establish 
if he had not been banished and his place taken by some 
one as good as Aristides; for the party spirit ran high, 
and if the conservatives now came forward, but with 
Aristides at their head, they could do no harm; he was a 
true patriot, and was not entirely opposed to the demo¬ 
cratic form of government. He was called the Just, and 
his pure unselfish love of country, his grand public and 
private integrity and careful measures were a good thing 
for the people. He only lived four years after the ban¬ 
ishment of his rival, and his party, under the leadership 
of Cimon—a wealthy, able, and popular man—did not 
remain in power very long. Cimon was banished by 
ostracism, and Pericles, at the head of the democracy, 
then took his place to Athens and the whole Greek nation. 

The growth o^the city was so wonderful under this man 
that the brightest page of Athenian history is called the Age of Pericles. 

There were splendid buildings reared that have been the world’s models of architec¬ 
ture ever since; on the streets statuary was as common as posts to us; beautiful gardens 



PERICLES. 













94 Cities of the Ancient Jl^orld. 

lay in many places; and colonnades filled with paintings and sculpture lined the public 
squares; but the greatness of Athens was more in the people than in the city they built- 
d'here were scarcely two hundred thousand residents then, and of these only about 
twenty-one thousand were voters; but it was a noble population, comprising the great 
writers, speakers thinkers, and all the first artisans, painters, and sculptors of Greece- 
Music, art, and every opportunity for all branches of education were centered here, and 
the lowest class of people were made to love art, literature, and poetry, under the influ¬ 
ence and authority of this one great and thoroughly noble man, whose genius was above 
all others, whose knowledge was greater than that of any about him, and yet whose 
only thought was for the good of the state. Great men surrounded him, and talent was 
at his command on every side; but among them all his majestic figure rose magnificently. 
His stern, quiet, reserved manners had a princely courtesy; he was master of himself 
and all about him; nothing could disturb his self-possession nor alter the tones of the 
sweet voice that rang out in a studied, measured oratory, overpowering in its splendor 
and effect, ruling the thought of the populace as his genius ruled the illustrious city. 
This was the man who for over thirty years stood at the head of that great ancient 
democracy, and saw that its laws were absolutely carried out, while every citizen had 
full liberty to speak and to act; they lived—Pericles himself said—without any envy 
toward their neighbors, under a constitution that made them an example to others. It 
was called a democracy, because it was framed for the good of the many, and not for the 
few. Its laws dealt equally in the disputes of every one; and worth alone gave its 
citizens positions of dignity and importance; no poverty or humble station kept any man 
back if he had powers that would benefit the State. But the State had no despots: 
every one had a right to follow his own tastes or pursuits without being disturbed by 
another who looked at things differently; “ for we are not angry with our neighbor for 
what he does to please himself; nor do we put on those sour looks which are offensive, 
though they do no positive damage.” At the same time there were severe laws against 
real misconduct, which every citizen was afraid to break, and a fine public opinion existed 
against those who wronged another or dealt meanly with an inferior. “ Seldom, if ever,” 
a celebrated English writer says, “ has there been in a statesman of any age such a com¬ 
bination of great qualities as were united in this illustrious man Pericles; though he was 
an aristocrat by birth he was a thorough democrat in principle and conduct; he never 
stooped in any way to make himself popular, but kept his hold on the people by his 
commanding qualities alone; he never flattered his countrymen except on what was really 
admirable in them, and which it was for their good to be taught to cherish; but he was 
open and severe on their faults and follies, and was never afraid to peril his popularity 
by giving disagreeable advice; and when this was not appreciated he would rise up 
against the injustice done him with scornful dignity that was almost defiance. That such 
a splendid man as this so long held the chief place among the people shows what a grand 



ATHENS FROM THE EAST 






















































































































































































































































































































A thens. 


97 


body of men the Athenian citizens were. Although they were several times vexed by 
circumstances into withdrawing their favor from him, they always hastened to give it 
back; no man could wean them from his power, nor gain any mischievous influence over 
them. It is impossible to estimate how great a share this one man had in making the 
Athenians what they were. A great man had, in the unbounded publicity of the polit¬ 
ical life at Athens, extraordinary facilities for moulding his country after his own image, 
and seldom has any people during a whole generation enjoyed such an education as forty 
years of listening to the lofty spirit and practical wisdom of Pericles must have been to 
the Athenian people.” Nothing seems to have been beyond his power. Athens became 
■celebrated abroad, and was visited by great travelers and noble foreigners; at home it 
■Stood above every other city, and was without a rival at the head of the whole nation. 
Many states paid tribute to it, and the products of the whole earth were shipped to its 
markets. The city was a common resort, and any one was welcome to it, and to the 
benefit of its opportunities; no citizen nor foreigner was debarred from any lesson or 
spectacle for fear that an enemy should see and profit by it; “for,” said Pericles, “we 
trust less to manoeuvres and artifices than to native boldness of spirit for warlike effi¬ 
ciency.” So the councils of the state, the assemblies of justice, and the law courts 
were held in the open air, where the humblest citizen might freely acquaint himself 
with all that went on. The great orations, that have never been surpassed by any orator 
of any age, were here free lectures upon matters not only of special importance to every 
Athenian citizen, but in exposition of laws and principles of justice not confined to any 
.state or any people. 

The law courts were held in ten different parts of the city; the seat of justice was 
•enclosed, but all that went on was in full view of the people, who attended the meeting 
in great numbers. Four times a month a great popular assembly was held in the Pnyx, 
a rocky terrace for great public meetings which stood in the side of a hill situated about 
half a mile west of the Acropolis. This was a sort of amphitheater of seats hewn out of 
the solid rock in two terraces. The upper of these was leveled out of rock near the 
summit of the hill, and was about sixty-five yards long and half as wide. Back of it ran 
a great stone wall, and at the western end a large cubical block was shaped out and left 
standing, probably for sacrifices offered at the opening of the Ecclesia, or assemblies. 
Below this terrace, and separated from it by another wall cut out of the solid rock, was 
the lower terrace. In the center this wall made a very obtuse angle, pointing awa)'- 
from the upper terrace, and having a stone block larger than the others projecting from 
it. This is eleven feet square and five feet high, standing on a platform of three very 
massive steps at the head of the lower terrace, which was probably on a level with it. 
This is supposed to have been the celebrated Bema, where the ancient Athenian speakers 
stood and addressed great popular assemblies. The larger part of the Ecclesia were 
probably gathered on the lower terrace, from whence they had a straight-ahead view 
7 


98 


Cities of the Aneient World. 

of the speaker, while some were ranged upon the seats above him. “At these assem¬ 
blies the men of Athens met to talk over matters of the highest importance and the most 
varied interest. The number of their war ships, the appointment of a stage play, the 
reception of ambassadors, the building of new temples, all these and many other mat¬ 
ters were discussed and decided in that wonderful democracy of Athens by the great 
body of common citizens.” 

Between the eastern end of the hill where the Pnyx stood and the Acropolis, was 
another hill of irregular form, called the Areopagus, or Mars Hill. This also was steep 
and rocky, and was only separated from the Acropoljs on the side of the Erechtheum by 
some hollow ground. It was here that the Apostle Paul, centuries later, in the early 
days of the Christian Era, preached to the Athenians, who were inquirers and philoso¬ 
phers still, but no such men as occupied these seats in the Age of Pericles. At the 
southeastern corner of the rock is a wide chasm leading to a gloomy recess, containing 
a fountain of very dark water. There was the sanctuary of the Eumenides, called by 
the Athenians the Semncr. or Venerable Goddess. The name came from a tradition 
among the Greeks tiiat Poseidon had brought Ares or Mars to this spot to be tried before 
the assembly of the gods, for murdering his son; and perhaps this was also the reason 
why it was selected as a seat of one of the Athenian councils. 

In the early history of Attica it was used by the Senate or Council; and by the ruling 
body called the Council of Areopagus, after Solon, the great Attic law-giver, instituted 
another senate. It was a most venerable assembly, formerly made up only of the chief 
members of the aristocratic party. They sat as judges in the open air, and decided 
between the accuser seated on one block of stone, and the accused, upon another; but 
beside being judges, the Areophagites, as they were called, had a sort of general cen¬ 
sorship over the citizens. They were all oldish men of high position in the state, until 
the time of Aristides. He changed the rules somewhat, hoping to keep out greater re¬ 
forms by making slight concessions to the democratic party, and opened the august 
assembly to all classes of citizens; but they were still elected by vote, and the poor 
were kept out of the Areophagus Council, until Pericles came. He broke up the high¬ 
handed power of the aristocracy and opened the council to meritorious men, who were 
elected by lot, without reference to wealth or family position. It was Pericles’ justly 
proud boast that “Our politicians have still their private duties, and our private citizens 
are well informed on public affairs; for we regard the man who keeps aloof from politics, 
useless, but not blameless.” 

So it came about that in the era of this great man that Greece was placed entirely in 
the hands of her people. The tablets containing the laws of Solon were brought down 
from the Acropolis and set up in the market place, not so much that all might be familiar 
with them, for that was a part of every man’s education; but to show that the people 
were their guardians. These laws and constitutions of Solon were the foundation of 


A t/lC7lS. 


99 



Grecian democracy, because they gave a vote to the lowest or poorest classes, but it was 
the reform of Clisthenes that opened the 
public offices of power to all citizens, and 
established the popular senate of five hun¬ 
dred. 

He also introduced ostracism, a plan by 
which the Athenians could, by a majority of 
votes, banish for ten years any citizen who 
made himself harmful to the state. But 
although the true beginning of the democ¬ 
racy was from the time of adopting the 
measures of Clisthenes, he did not pretend 
to do more than alter the constitution and 
laws of Solon according to the demands for 
reform that about a century of progress made 
necessary; and after a quarter of a century 
or more of further progress and develop¬ 
ment, the basis of the Athenian government 
was still upon the frame-work laid out by 
the great legislator, and had entered into a 
glorious career. The institutions of Clis¬ 
thenes had given the citizens a personal 
interest in the welfare and grandeur of 
their country, and a spirit of the warmest 
patriotism rapidly sprang up among them. 

The highest court was the Council of 
State or Senate, which was chosen by lot 
every year. The body met on the Areopa¬ 
gus, and prepared measures, which were laid 
before another, the Ecclesia or popular as¬ 
sembly, which met on the Pnyx, and was 
composed out of the mass of citizens, rich 
and poor. Below the Areopagus there was 
held a court of justices elected by lot from 
the popular assembly once a year. , The 
causes were tried by divisions of the whole 
body. After framing this constitution, 

Solon made out many laws about private 
life and private rights, public amuse- 


DEMOSTHENES. 













lOO 


Cities of the Ancient JVorld. 


ments, slavery, marriage and other matters. These had been preserved for over a hun¬ 
dred years, and were now brought down from the Erechtheum, and hung in the Agora, 
or market-place, which was the great center of Athenian life. 

In the heroic age the Agora was an assembly of freemen, next in the government to 
the Council; but in the days of the democracy the name was given to the public meeting- 
place, or market; it was to Greece what the Forum was to Rome. The Athenian Agora 
lay at the foot of and between the three hills of the Pnyx on the west, the Areopagus 
on the north, and towering above it on the east was the Propyltea of the Acropolis. It 
was a large, irregularly shaped square, occupying nearly a quarter of the Athenian Asty, 
in the heart of the city; from it great streets ran out like arteries, traversing town and 
■country; the highways for travel and traffic for every sort of business in Athens cen¬ 
tered in the Agora 

The Athenians took great interest and pride in the chief public place of their city, 
and spared no pains to make it stately and beautiful. They surrounded the vast open 
space with colonnaded porticos for meetings; they laid out agreeable promenades and 
set up places of amusement here and there, while temples, altars and a host of statues 
and monuments graced it in every part. In this neighborhood most of the shopkeepers 
and artisans of the city had their places of business, each craft in a distinct section or 
set of booths. One part was noisy and bustling with mountebanks and quack doctors; 
in another were the market for quantities of wheat, barley, flax and oil, the principal 
products of the country, and the cattle markets, for selling the stock pastured on the 
fair hills of Attica and more distant provinces. Widely different from these busy 
throngs of citizens and countrymen, were the quiet, dignified bankers’ and money¬ 
changers’ quarters. 

In the shops, in the portico, on the thoroughfares or open squares, in every 
part here was the thick of Athenian business and civic life. All, except the bread- 
sellers and the gay groups of flower girls, were men, for Athenian ladies kept them¬ 
selves within their homes and out of sight. At one time the men were richly dressed in 
robes that fell to the feet in heavy folds of beautifully embroidered material. The 
hair was usually wound in a knot over the brow, and secured with a golden pin. Be¬ 
hind, walked a slave, carrying his master’s cushioned chair. At night people carried 
torches through the streets to light them on their way, for there was no public sys¬ 
tem of lighting. In the days of the greatness of Athens both men and women dressed 
in two simple garments; one was a sort of shirt, or under-garment, called the endyviaia, 
and the other was an outer cloak or dress called the chiton. This was an oblong piece 
of cloth wrapped in folds round the body; one arm was put through a hole in the closed 
;side; the two ends of the open side were fastened over the opposite shoulder with a button 
or clasp, which were often beautifully wrought in silver or gold, and set with magnifi¬ 
cent jewels. On the side that the ends came together the chiton was completely open 



the PARTHENON AT THE TIME OF PERICLES. 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































A thens. 


103 


to the waist. Round the hips it was fastened with a ribbon or girdle, and when the 
wearer wished to shorten the skirts of the garment the folds were pulled up through the 
girdle. The chiton of the women was usually more ample than that of the men, and 
sometimes was so long that it hung over the girdle in deep, loose folds, and a portion 
was also turned back and made to hang gracefully over the shoulder. There were at 
different times changes made in the 
size and shape of these garments, but 
for a long time this and the endymata 
were in various forms about the only 
articles of indoor clothing worn by 
Athenian men or women. For out¬ 
side wear they had also a large gar¬ 
ment, or cloak, called the himation, 
which was oblong in shape, with a 
border all the way round. It was laid 
across the back, with one corner 
thrown over the left shoulder, and 
the main part of the cloak brought 
across the chest, passing under or 
over the right shoulder; the other 
end was flung over the left shoulder, 
with the corner hanging in heavy 
folds down the back. This could be 
m^de to completely envelop the fig¬ 
ure, and the women sometimes ar¬ 
ranged it to cover head and arms also. 

There were small weights sewed into 
the corners in order to preserve the 
folds and prevent the cloak from slip¬ 
ping. Usually the Athenian garments 
were white, but the cloaks were often 
browm, and both men and women sometimes wore the brilliant Oriental colors. Beauti¬ 
ful patterns were sometimes woven into the material of the dresses, which had also rich 
borders and embroideries sewed on. The citizens were usually bare-headed; caps were 
worn by travelers, hunters, and workmen much exposed to the sun. Great care was 
taken of the hair, which was almost always thick and long. The slaves alone had 
short-cropped hair. At home, and even in the streets, men walked with naked feet, 
and when shoes or sandals were worn they were removed before entering a house. So 
the crowds that filled the Agora and loitered in its porticoes were robed in the heavy 



( 


GREEK MALE HEADS. 


lOA. 


Cities of the A7icient Wo7'ld. 

folds of the himation or the graceful chiton. The white figures moved in and out of the 
stately colonnades, gathered in picturesque groups on the squares or strolled along the 
shady promenade. 

“The Athenian citizen was a very sociable person. He rose early, took a light meal 
of bread and wine, and spent all the first morning hours in making calls or attending 
to public business in the assembly or the law-court. At mid-day a sort of substantial 
lunch was taken, and then came gossip in the colonnades, the gymnasia, the Agora, and 
the studios of artists, or a stroll down to the harbor at Piraeus. The principal meal of 
the day was a four o’clock dinner, at which the better classes ate meat, beef, mutton, kid, 
or pork, fish—esi)ecially salt fish, wheaten bread, vegetables, fruit, and sweetmeats; 
their drink was wine mixed with water.’’ 

Along the western side of the market-place ran the Stoa Poecili, a colonnade formed 
by columns on one side and a wall on the other, against which panels were placed, 
decorated with paintings. This Stoa lay between the Agora and the Pnyx; it was de¬ 
signed in its various sections for public consultations and a general sheltered meeting place 
for public or private business of the citizens. The pictures on the walls represented the 
battle of (Enoe, the fight of the Athenians against the Amazons, the destruction of Troy, 
and the battle of Marathon. One of the most notable buildings that ever stood 
near here was the Tower of the Winds; it was not ouilt until long after the time of 
Pericles, in about 50 b.c. It was a tall eight-sided building with two porticoes and a 
little recess standing out from its smooth regular walls. It was covered by a round roof 
rising to a point, where a pretty capital supported a movable bronze figure of Triton, 
vhich pointed with its staff to the direction of the wind. Just beneath the edge of the 
roof there was a broad frieze adorned with sculptures representing the eight winds, whi;?h 
the Greeks personified; below them the lines of a sun-dial were chiseled into the wall. 
The interior contained a water-clock, which was gradually filled from a reservoir in a 
way that marked the passing of time. Eastward from the Agora ran the street of Tri¬ 
pods, making a bold sweep around the foot of the Acropolis. It was very handsome, 
with some of the finest public buildings of the city, and formed the favorite promenade. 
Here the great men walked whose names have been household words for ages, and whose 
works and thoughts have lived through the centuries since with powerful influence on 
the whole world. The street had many temples, and was named from the small votive 
shrines which adorned it. Upon their summits the shrines supported the bronze tripods 
which had been obtained in the choragic contest. Sometimes an exquisite statue was 
placed upon the tripods. At first these prizes were set within the sacred precincts of 
the theater; but when this space was filled they gradually extended all along this street. 
Two of the most celebrated theaters in Athens stood not far apart upon this street, and 
in the slope below the Acropolis. Of these, the nearest to the Agora was the Odeum 
of Pericles. As ignorance of music was held by the Athenians to be a disgrace, Peri- 


A thciis. 


105 


cles built this concert hall for the public rehearsals of the choruses which sang at the¬ 
atrical performances. It was arranged with gradually rising tiers of seats, and covered 
with a cone-shaped roof to retain the sound. This was water-proof, and for that reason 
the Odeum was sometimes used for other performances transferred from the larger 
theaters. The chief Athenian place for dramatic entertainments was the Dionysiac 
Theater, which was at the head of the street of Tripods, and occupied a part of the 
southern slope of the Acropolis. 

The middle of it was made by cut¬ 
ting out the solid rock; part of this 
was made into the rows of seats that 
rose in ever-widening curves one 
after another, and formed an audi¬ 
torium large enough to seat all the 
people of Athens and great num¬ 
bers of strangers beside. It had 
no roof, but an awning was probably 
stretched across the top to keep off 
the heat and the sun. The lowest 
row of seats was a semicircle of arm 
chairs hewn out of blocks of fine 
Pentelic marble, like that with 
which the Parthenon was built. 

These were for men of special dig¬ 
nity in priestly or civil office. One 
in the center was richly decorated 
with bas-reliefs, and only occupied 
by the priest of Dionysus or Bac¬ 
chus, the god of the drama as well 
as of other things, in whose honor 
this theater was built, and who was 
here worshiped every March at a 
great festival called the Dionysia. Below the marble arm-chairs was the place of the 
orchestra, in the center of which stood an altar to Dionysus. The orchestra was large 
enough for a great body of musicians, who performed various fantastic dances besides 
singing in choruses and playing on many different instruments. Beyond the orchestra, 
extending across the straight side of the theater connecting the ends of the tiers of seats, 
was the large and stately structure of the stage, like the facade of a large building, with 
columns and other ornamentation above and on either side of the opening. This was 
fitted out with scenery for tragedy, comedy, and satires. The plays were very different 



GREEK FEMALE HEADS. 



io6 Cities of the Ancie^it Whrld. 

from the performances given in modern theaters. They were introduced as a form of 
worship, and at first were always representations, either funny or serious, of some ex¬ 
ploits of Dionysus. The chief part of the entertainments of the Dionysise festivals were 
fantastic dances, given by the chorus. These were sometimes gay, sometimes sad, to 
represent the characteristics of the seasons; the approach Of winter, when the vine and 
fruit-bearing trees were dry,was symbolized by grave marches and solemn music; forspring- 
time representations there were quick movements and gay songs; summer was still merrier, 
and autumn, the vintage time, was hailed with great hilarity. Between two hymns a 
leader of the chorus or a speaker, dressed to represent a satyr, would step forward and 
recite some exploit of Dionysus, in either a serious or funny manner. The hymns and 
songs, the dances and recitations were all connected with the “god of pleasure and of 
the vine.” After a while an actor, who was not a singer, would hold a dialogue with 
the leader of the chorus, and relate the supposed opinions or exploits of the deity. 
This was introduced by Thespis, in about 53 b.c., and was the beginning of stage plays. 
He was called the father of Greek tragedy; twenty years or so after Phrynichus wrote 
plays from some story of the heroic age of Greece, which were a vast improvement on 
those of Thespis. Phrynichus made out dialogues that were carried on between an 
actor and the leader of the chorus during intervals between the hymns. In a few more 
years there came another, Hilschylus, who wrote dialogues in poetry, for two actors, and 
so the entertainments on the stage became separate from the chorus, and during the half 
century following it developed to a wonderful degree of art, which has since served as 
a model to all ages of play writers. An important part of stage costumes were the 
masks, which represented different passions or emotions, and were put on and off, as the 
actors assumed various characters that represented classes of men not individuals. 

This great theater full of people must have been a most lively and imposing sight. 
The spectators used to begin to gather soon after daybreak, and unless they came upon 
the free list, paid their fee and were shown their seats according to the number on their 
tickets by the police of the theater. Before the days of Pericles women went to the 
public entertainments, but at this time it was not thought a proper place for lad es. 
Favorite poets and actors were loudly applauded and showered with flowers; bad per¬ 
formers were'whistled at, and received other tokens of disapproval; the spectators were 
always demonstrative and plainly showed their feelings about the performance or the 
actors; and often broke out into acclamation when a famous person appeared in the 
audience. 

Some distance to the south-east of the theater and the Odeum stood the magnificent 
temple of Olympian Jove, a colossal structure in the Doric style that was not finished until 
over six hundred and fifty years after it was founded. It was over three hundred and 
fifty feet long, and about a hundred and seventy-five feet broad, and was surrounded by 
about a hundred and twenty fluted columns six feet in diameter and sixty feet high, 



STREET OF TOMBS IN ATHENS. 



. ) 


9 























































































































































A thens. 


109. 



arranged in double and triple rows along the front and sides of the oblong structure, 
d'he temple stood in a sacred grove near the river Ilissus, which ran across the lower 
part of the city at the foot of a range of 
hills just within the south-eastern wall. 

In size, splendor, and beauty this temple 
excelled all other structures in Athens. 

Immense sums of money were expended 
upon it; in the lofty pillar cella was a 
great ivory and gold statue of Jupiter 
or Zeno, by Phidias, that was equal to, 
if not grander, than the celebrated sculp¬ 
tor’s work on the Acropolis. It was 
colossal in size and of most exquisite 
workmanship. Other statues also graced 
the temple; the peribolus was full of 
them; before the pillars stood bronze 
figures representing the cities that were 
colonies of Athens, and upon pedestals 
on the solid white Pentelican pavement 
rare sculptures of Egyptian and other 
marble stood around the sides of the 
enclosure. 

West of the Olypium, about midway 
between the Ilissus and the Agora, rose 
the Museum Hill, shaped like a vast four- 
leaf clover, and in whose sides the early 
inhabitants had made their homes by 
hewing chambers out of the solid rock. 

Below, a street called the Ceramicus, 
entered the Agora on the south-eastern 
side, and crossing it diagonally extended 
into a district of the same name from 
between the Pnyx and Mars Hill. The 
Ceramicus was divided into two sections, 
the Inner and the Outer quarters. To 
the right of the Inner Ceramicus, on a 
height of land north of the Areopagus, 
was the celebrated Theseum. It was 
built with the stately pillared front and pediment in the Grecian style, and was designed' 


LYSICRATES’ MONUMENT, ATHENS. 

















I lO 


Cities of tJic Ancieyit JFor/d. 


first as a tomb for the bones of Theseus, one of the early kings of the heroic age, and 
the reputed founder of Athenian greatness; these remains had been brought from Sycros 
by Cimon, in 469, and a few years later were placed in the Theseum, which was also a 
temple and had the privileges of an asylum, and was sometimes used as a court of 
justice and as a prison. The beautifully proportioned structure was adorned on its 
pediment and frieze with sculptures representing the exploits of Hercules and Theseus, 
and many paintings were upon its walls. It was greatly venerated by the people, and in 
troublous times bodies of armed citizens were detailed to sleep in it. Excepting for 
the loss of some of its ornamentation the Theseum is now standing in almost as perfect 
condition as in the grand old days when it was built. 

The Outer Ceramicus formed a handsome suburb on the north-west of the city, and 
was the burial-place of all persons honored with a public funeral. Some of these tombs 
were magnificent monuments, covered with sculpture and set with pillars of finest work¬ 
manship. It was the custom to bury soldiers who fell in the cause of their country with 
great ceremony, and at the public expense. For three days before the burial the 
bodies lay in a tent raised on purpose, and kept open to all the relatives of the dead 
men who wished to bring offerings. When the time for the funeral came, the remains 
were placed in cypress-wood coffins, and carried on carts to the graves, followed by a 
procession of citizens, friends, and mourning women, hired to sing woeful songs to flute 
music. After the bones had been covered with earth a wise and respected man, chosen 
by the citizens, took his place on a tribune or temporary platform, and made the funeral 
oration. After this the procession returned to the former homes of the dead men, and 
sat down to a meal. On the third, the tenth, and the thirtieth days after the funeral 
sacrifices were offered up at the grave, and the tomb, adorned with flowers, was always 
a hallowed spot, where on certain days of the year oblations and libations were offered in 
memory of the dead; and prayers were made that his soul might be admitted to Elysium 
or the Happy Land, and not condemned to wander forever on the banks of the Dark 
Stream. Through the Outer Ceramicus there was a road running to the gymnasium and 
gardens of the Academy, which were situated about a mile from the city. On either side 
along the way there were monuments to illustrious Athenians, especially those who had 
fallen in battle. The Academy was a grove or garden, which had been given to Athens for 
a gymnasium by the old hero Academus. There were many gymnasia in the city, but 
this was particularly famous after Plato began to hold his school here. The grounds 
of the Academy were planted with plane trees and olives, and adorned with many statues 
and altars; there was a temple to Athena in one part, and in another the modest lit¬ 
tle house of Plato, over the door of which were the words: “ Let no one enter who is 
ignorant of geometry.” Cimon made the grove very beautiful by putting streams of 
water through it, and laying out shady walks and broad, open drives. Plato built a 
temple to the Muses, where, after the great teacher’s death, a statue of himself was 


A thciis. 


111 



placed. The teachings of Plato in this beautiful templed grove were so deep and learned 
that people of ordinary mind did not understand him; but there were several men 
among the Athenians of that day who fully understood and appreciated him, and 
through them, and a wide circle who partially understood him, his teachings spread far 
and wide. His influence upon the 
minds of all who have lived since 
has been very great. Most of his 
teachings were from the ideas of his 
own great teacher, Socrates; his 
greatest thought was to show that 
there is a God who makes all and 
rules all, and that the soul lives for¬ 
ever. His standard of living was 
very high, and his teachings were 
full of the lofty principles of tern- 
perance, justice, and honor. Plato 
was the finest writer of essays in 
the form of questions and answers; 
his style is a beautiful prose, that is 
so easy and graceful that it is almost 
like poetry; it is now, and it has 
always been, greatly admired and 
studied by scholars and writers. 

The chief object of Plato’s life was 
to spread the philosophy of his won¬ 
derful teacher. 

Socrates lived during a large part 
■of the age of Pericles, and is better 
known now in his person, character, 
and teaching than any other man of 
ancient times. He left nothing 
written himself, and all that we 
know of him is from Plato and an¬ 
other famous writer of those times, 

Xenophon the historian. Beneath socr.^tes. 

the most grotesque looks that al-' 

most any man ever had, there was the noblest soul described in all ancient nistory. 
His nose was flat, his lips thick, his eyes goggled, his whole face and figure were coarse, 
clumsy, and unpleasant; but he had the soul of a true hero and the mind of a philoso- 







I I 2 


Cities of the Ancie7it IVoiCd. 


pher. He was a brave and hardy soldier, and devoted his life to benefiting others, 
“ With feet unsandaled, and in threadbare dress, he roamed about the public walks, the 
gymnastic schools, the market-place, and every resorf of men, talking to rich and 
poor, young and old, in a voice of wondrous sweetness and powerful charm, teaching 
the right way to truth in living and thinking.” He had found how to question men 
till they knew themselves what they thought or what they did not think, and so by his 
wonderful power he opened to the eyes of these pagan Greeks the way to truth and 
honesty. He showed them how to know themselves, and how to get rid of wrong notions 
and self-conceit. He taught the principles and showed the importance of morality. 
Wit and intelligence were then thought more of than virtue and honesty; and beauty in 
art and in men and women was worshiped devotedly. It is all right for these things ta 
have their place, but that is not the first place, as many sophists or false teachers had 
taught the Athenians to believe, by putting lies in the place of truth and crookedly 
reasoning truth into error. Socrates felt that he must show how false all this was, and 
arouse people to love justice and virtue above all things. He set an example, too, that 
was consistent with his teachings in every act of his life. The Sophists couM not answer 
his arguments, but they brought a charge against him of corrupting the minds of the 
young men of Athens, for there were a great many who gathered around Socrates, and 
followed his teachings. He was tried on the Areopagus, and, although the charges 
could not be proved, he was condemned to die. He refused to run away or stoop to 
anything to save his life. He said the soul would live, and fearlessly drank the cup of 
hemlock poison prepared for him. 

Many of the greatest men of the time took up his teaching, and from two of the best 
writers of his or any other age the whole world has received the benefit of his grand 
thoughts and noble life. Beside the Academic school of philosophy, founded on the 
beliefs of Socrates, and taught by Plato in Athens, there were three others. One was 
the Epicurean, held in the “Gardens of Epicurus,” the founder, who for years with 
patience and courage bore a most painful illness, of which he died. He taught that the 
true aim in living was for pleasure, but he did not mean low pleasures; and his own 
temperate, simple manner of living was far from what is now understood as epicurean. 
His idea was that lasting happiness came from pure and noble employments, especially 
from study and intellectual pleasures. These he taught would give peace of mind, which 
he thought was the chief object of life. The Stoic school was taught in the Stoa of the 
Agora, which was adorned by the paintings of the Battle of Marathon. Zeno taught 
here for nearly sixty years, and spread the philosophy of scorning both pain and pleas¬ 
ure. The last great school ofi ancient Athens was founded by Plato’s great pupil, 
Aristotle. It was called the Peripatetic school, and was held in the Athenian gymnasi¬ 
um called the Lyceum, which stood in the midst of shady woods and beautiful gardens 
in an eastern suburb of the city. The name of the Peripatetic school came 



i' 




PIRiEUS 










































































































































































































































































































































































A thens. 


115 

either from the peripatoi or covered walks of the grove, or from the habit that the 
philosopher had of walking up and down while he gave his lectures—the usual custom 
was to be seated. Although Aristotle was a pupil of Plato, he did not follow his master 
and Socrates in teaching by questions and answers, but gave regular lectures in the 
same fashion as most professors do now in modern schools. He had two sets of classes; 
one to ^’‘intimates," a small number of advanced students or men who were themselves, 
philosophers and teachers, was held in the mornings; and in the afternoons his grove 
was open to a larger circle of men, called ^'‘outsiders." Here for thirteen years the short, 
slender man with his small eyes and brisk manners was the reverenced teacher of the 
most learned men of Athens. His intellect embraced all the learning of his time, his 
activity and earnestness were so great that the subjects of his lectures included every 
topic that could engage men’s thoughts. Besides his lectures he wrote a great deal on 
rhetoric, ethics, politics, poetry, and natural history. He was the founder of logic or 
the science of reasoning, and was the developer and originator of scientific methods of 
thinking and learning which have been used by the greatest minds ever since, and are 
now follovved almost exactly as he bequeathed them to the world. He lived at Athens 
for twenty years, and there wrote the larger part of his works. At first he was a pupil 
in the Academy under Plato, after that he spent a number of years at the court of Mace¬ 
donia as tutor to Alexander the Great. When he returned to Athens he occupied the 
Lyceum, and made it a school of philosophy. 

The lofty hill of Lycabettus—now St. George—rose in grandeur and beauty just out¬ 
side the eastern wall. It was the crowning feature of the landscape, as Vesuvius is to 
Naples or Arthur’s Seat to Edinburgh.* In front of it lay the whole city, with its stately 
temples, its busy streets and squares, its great theaters, renowned gymnasia and modest 
dwellings. In view of its noble crest the greatest commonwealth of Greece flourished 
for two hundred years—the center of good to its country and of good to after genera¬ 
tions. Far and wide its lines of power swept, for Athens was a proud state with her 
enemies, and as ambitious of conquest and dominion as most nations of antiquity; but, 
unlike nearly every other, it gave to its dependencies a great security from powerful 
enemies; many of them grew rich and prosperous, while no interference was made in 
their home governments; but when they appealed to the Council against the oppression 
of rich and powerful Athenians doing business on their territory, their cause was heard 
and redress given even against a citizen of the capital. But Greece was continually 
disturbed by rivalries among the various states. The suprem.e power of Attica was not 
a source of complete national pride; Sparta, and others less important, could not endure 
it. After the death of Pericles a poor government prevailed, and little by little Athe¬ 
nian allies were drawn away; the glorious state began to wane In spite of a few noble 


* See “(ireat Cities of the Modern World.” 





ii6 Cities of the Ancient JVoi'ld. 

efforts her power was scattered; the Peloponnesian.war came on, and although Sparta 
gained the coveted chief place, it was only to lose it before Philip of Macedon; for when 
the glory of Athens fell that of Greece went too. 

The bane of the Hellenic race svas their local pride; they allowed love for their spe¬ 
cial cities to overpower their allegiance to the nation at large, and it was not until things 
had gone too far, and the hand of Rome had laid an iron grasp upon them, that the 
states discovered the last and greatest principle of a democratic government. Federal 
Union. 

The chief port of Athens was Piraeus, a peninsula at the head of the Saronic 
Gulf. It is about four and a half miles from the capital, and contained three fine natu¬ 
ral harbors. A large one on the western side was Piraeus proper, or the Harbor, two 
smaller ones were on the eastern side, one of which was called Zea, the other Munychia. 
The last was the nearest to Athens. Before the time of Themistocles the Athenian har¬ 
bor had been the open roadstead of Phalerum, on the eastern side of the Phaleric 
Bay, where the sea shore is nearest to Athens; but when the great democrat became 
the leader of the people his genius foresaw that the Attic capital might be made a great 
naval power. He selected the peninsula of Piraeus as a more favorable spot than the 
small point on the opposite shore of the Phaleric Bay; this'he surrounded with a wall 
built in the strongest and most durable manner, standing si.xty feet high and about fif¬ 
teen feet thick, vastly greater in height and thickness than those of the Athenian Asty. 
The port thus enclosed was about seven and a half miles around, as large as the Asty, 
with which it was connected by the famous Long Walls. There was also a wall con¬ 
necting the city with Phalerum, but the long fan-shaped space enclosed between the two 
fortifications was entirely too great to be easily defended, and as the town of Phalerum 
was small and insignificant in comparison with the Piraeus, it and the wall were soon 
abandoned, while the importance of the peninsula grew year by year. 

The Long Walls extended from a gate in the western side of Athens in a south¬ 
westerly direction to the head of the peninsula, making a greater reach than lay between 
the Asty and the Phalerum; this is probably the reason they were called "‘Long.” 
They extended in two parallel lines, the north wall and south wall, with a space of 
about five hundred and fifty feet between. A roadway ran through the center, flanked 
on either side by closely built rows of houses; all day long it was thronged with laborers, 
merchants and travelers. It was always a busy, lively scene; and many Athenian idlers 
made a point of strolling down the Long Walls during the afternoon to “ see the sights,” 
while many more were constantly passing to and fro on matters of business. Beyond 
the North Wall there lay a fine wood of olive trees, and toward the old Phaleric fortifi¬ 
cation beyond the South Wall was a stretch of cultivated vineyards. These walls were 
built after the plan of Themistocles, but in the time of Pericles, who also laid out and 
built up the Piraean peninsula as a town. The height nearest to Athens, skirted on that 


Pircsus. 


117 


side by a continuation of the South Wall and overlooking the Phaleric Bay from the 
west, was called Munychia. It was occupied by the citadel, and in a military point of 
view was the most important part of Piraeus. The entire peninsula was rocky and a 
sort of natural fortification; its safety was further increased by the walls and crowned 
by the lofty Acropolis. The small harbor below was occupied by fleets of war ships, and 
in the rocky sides of the hill toward the land there were temples and a theater, beyond 
which was a large oblong market-place called the Hippo datneian Agora. 

A short distance below the south side of this market place was the head of the Zea. 
This lay at the south side of Munychia, and was also a naval harbor; it was quite a 
broad and sheltered bay, with a narrow inlet guarded by promontories, with the solid wall 
of the peninsula following the irregular outline of its shore. The Munychian inlet was 
further up the coast, but both opened upon the safe waters of Phalerum Bay, and were 
but portions of the roadstead that was anchoring ground for the great Athenian navy. 

It was the dream of Themistocles to make Athens the greatest maritime and com¬ 
mercial power in Greece; and for this he opened dock-yards and built arsenals; he en¬ 
couraged the people to raise an immense fleet, and to keep the navy in excellent condi¬ 
tion by increasing it every year. History has many pages filled with the successes of 
his wise management, th'e conquest of the Athenian ships and feats of the skillful, 
hardy seamen. 

The art of ship-building was originated so long ago that there are no records of a 
time when it was unknown. The Greeks believed that ships were first built by the gods; 
but the world owes the development of seafaring vessels to the Hellenes themselves. 
They improved on rafts and dug-outs, by making sailing craft and great row-boats with 
flat bottoms, sometimes with one row of oarsmen, sometimes with two, one bank sitting 
above the other. After or during the time of Themistocles, larger boats were made 
and the number of tiers of rowers increased even to ten, who made their vessels fly over 
the water with great swiftness. The entire eastern portion of the peninsula of Piraeus 
was devoted to the ship-yards, navy, and citadel, while the western and upper part, with 
the large sheltered harbor, was given up to business and commerce and was known as 
the Emporium. The Agora lay between the foot of the citadel and the easterly shore 
of the harbor; it must have been a busy scene of merchants and porters, business men 
and workmen passing to and fro or collected in little groups, buying and selling or 
talking over their affairs. 

Across the shallow upper end of the harbor there was a long wall or pier, and along 
the eastern shore, connected with it, there was a long portico, which was used for storing 
and selling corn. Piraeus was a- shipping as well as a receiving port, and this corn 
market was stored with products of home and foreign raising. There were other por¬ 
ticos along the shore, particularly one called Deigma, where samples were shown of 
goods on sale, and where, also, bankers and money-changers had offices. The porticos 


ii8 Cities of the Ancie^it World. 

and squares were spacious and finely built, but the streets were narrow and rather neg¬ 
lected, The population was several thousand probably, but this was included among 
the number of people mentioned as living in Athens, for while Piraeus was distinct from 
the Asty, both were often included in the name of the capital. The fortifications ex¬ 
tended so as to include quite a strip of land on the west shore of the harbor, and an¬ 
other little bay outside the entrance. There were ancient sepulchres standing here, and 
at the end of the narrow strip of land that ran out between the little bay and the mouth 
of Piraeus the altar-like Fount of Themistocles was set up by his countrymen. They 
respected his memory for the great things he had done and forgave his treachery after 
he was gone. The Athenians owed this grand harbor to him, and could not have 
selected a better spot on which to place his monument. 

West of Attica an irregular strip of land connected the main part of Greece with a 
large peninsula called Peloponnesus. This comprised almost one half of the territory 
of Greece, and but for the isthmus which lay between the gulfs of Saronica and Corinth, 
it was entirely surrounded by water. About midway between the gulfs, where they come 
nearest together and at a point where the neck of land seems to join the peninsula, stootf 
the famous city of Corinth. It is said to have been founded in about the year 1350 b.c., 
but its time of importance was half a dozen centuries later. Its citadel, or the AcrocormthuSy 
stood on a great rocky hill, almost two thousand feet high; a vast ravine separated it from 
a range of mountains on the north, and helped to make it “the most gigantic natural 
citadel in Europe, beyond comparison with both the Acropolis of Athens and the for¬ 
tress of Gibraltar.” At the base of this, on a broad rock, nearly two hundred feet 
above the level of the isthmus, lay the city. It was about four miles in extent, full of 
people, wealth, business, and amusements. It was called the city of the two seas, and 
it had two harbors. Lechaerem was on the western bay, and Cenchreae was on the 
eastern; they were filled with ships, and controlled a great part of Grecian commerce at 
one time, for although it could not claim the importance of the port of Athens, it had a 
flourishing trade of its own, and was in a favorable place for the meeting of northern 
and southern commerce. There was a contrivance of trucks or sledges for hauling the 
galleys from one sea to another across the neck, which was very useful, and made Cor¬ 
inth a great stopping place. The people were ingenious and industrious, they amassed 
great wealth, and used it liberally in improving and beautifying the city with much taste 
and luxury. Being situated at the very gate of the peninsula, it was able to take an 
important part in the great Peloponnesean war, which was between Sparta, the most pow¬ 
erful state of the peninsula, and Athens. Corinth joined against the capital, and ally¬ 
ing itself closely to Sparta, furnished the larger part of the fleet against the Athenians. 
This contest lasted for about twenty-seven years, it began soon after the death of Peri¬ 
cles, the great Athenian leader, and ended with the fall of Athens. And, although it 



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Alycencs. 

gave the chief power of Greece into the hands of Sparta for a few years, it was the 
cause of the downfall of the whole country. But from it the world gained the noble 
work of the historian Thucydides, who described in a masterly manner the various 
changes and events in the great struggle, as he himself saw them. 

After a while Corinth became jealous of her great ally, and leagued with other Gre¬ 
cian states against Sparta. This resulted in the Corinthian war; a peace was made, and 
Corinth aided Sparta when her stri'fe with Thebes led to another war, and the downfall 
of the Theban supremacy, as it is called in history. A while after Corinth became a 
stronghold of the Macedonian conquerors, and later it was the center of the Achean 
league, which was formed against the Romans. In revenge for this, when the Roman 
conquerors reached the “ opulent city ” they totally destroyed it. The glory of ancient 
Corinth was thus ended; for a century the beautiful city lay in ruins. In the early 
years of the Christian era, Julius Caesar rebuilt it, and once more it became prosperous 
and powerful, and the scene of many important events; but it never reached the height 
of its former glory. 

On a craggy height in about the center of Argolis, a province of Peloponnesus, ad¬ 
joining Corinth, was the ancient city of Mycenae. It was founded by Pelops, a native 
of the Grecian territory of Phrygia in Asia Minor, and was the capital of the kingdom 
of Agamemnon, one of the most renowned dynasties of the heroic age of Greece. It 
was then the chief city of the country, and its strong old walls and mighty buildings 
were among the noblest in the old world. The citadel occupied an eminence stretching 
from east to west, which formed a great platform about a thousand feet in length, and 
half that in width. Around it were massive walls, at its foot flowed two mountain tor¬ 
rents. No projecting towers or huge buttresses broke the even line of the walls, except¬ 
ing at the two gates, where there were two structures that served as sort of high guard¬ 
houses and set out from the right hand side of the gates in such a way that the sword 
arm of the besiegers outside, was directly in the way of missiles from the soldiers inside 
the gates. The principal entrance was the western gate, above the lintels of which there 
were decorations that still remain, and are famous as the most ancient pieces of sculp¬ 
ture in Greece. From them the entrance has been called the Gate of Lions, and beneath 
them passed the forefathers of the Hellenes, when they were a semi-barbarous people 
like all the rest of the world. 

There is no real history of Mycenae, it rose, flourished and fell into ruins before the 
art of writing history was known. But, in about 500 b.c., before the people had for¬ 
gotten the legends or stories connected with the great city, and the events of those 
times, called the Heroic Age, they were written out as dramas, by a poet named 
yEschylus. He did not attempt to put them down for truth, so we cannot feel that the 
knowledge he gives us is near as good as history, but at least, it has preserved a great 
deal, and saved IMycenae from entire oblivion. Agamemnon, the king of Greece, whose 


122 


Cities of the Ancient Woi'ld. 

capital was here, was a great figure in Homer’s poem of the Iliad, or Siege of Troy; so, 
from that we have another part-legendary record of the Grecian customs of those far off 
times, and in the works of these two writers we have also some of the most beautiful 
poetry that ever was written. 

On the western coast of Peloponnesus there was a state called Elis, which was cele¬ 
brated for having the greatest of all temples to Jupiter, or Zeus, and as the scene of the 
Olympic games. The beautiful plain where these took place was in about the center 
of Elis, it was dotted with hills and temple-groves, and through it ran the celebrated 
river Alpheus. This state raised scarcely anything of importance, and never took any 
very active part in Grecian politics; it was a sacred land of peace; armies were com¬ 
pelled to lay down their arms before passing through it, and when the festivals were 
held, members of all the States met there as friends, even in times of war. The custom 
of holding the games at Elis in honor of Zeus began in the year b.c. 776, and from that 
time the Greeks reckoned years by Olympiads, or periods of four years from one festival 
to the next. This has been a very important feature in Greek history, because before 
then no regular dated records of all the country’s events had been kept; but now when 
a circumstance was set down, it was as having happened at a particular time in the first, 
second, third, or fourth year of some specified Olympiad. All Greeks took a deep in¬ 
terest in these festivals; every state sent embassies, who came in the greatest splendor, 
and people gathered from far and near by thousands. There were more than Olympia 
and all the surrounding villages could accommodate; so buildings were erected, huts built, 
tents pitched, and in a few days the plain was skirted by a mushroom city, active and 
bustling, with tradesmen of all kinds, as long as the games lasted. Then it vanished, 
for none except priests, servants, and watchmen might dwell on the ground consecrated 
to the “ father of gods and men.” 

Where the Alpheus issues forth from the mountains to wind its course through the 
plain of Elis to the sea, stood the temple of Zeus, the chief of the gods; it was at some 
distance from the right hand of the stream; and from it, stretching down to the sea, 
and along the shore, was the walled and sacred grove called Altis, the place of festivals 
and shrines, of statues and dedicated gifts, of treasuries and countless monuments and 
figures commemorating the victors; it was adorned by eminent artists with marble stat¬ 
uary and figures. In the inner shrine is the wondrous work of Greek sculpture, the 
colossal figure of the Olympian Zeus, adorned with gold and ivory, at the feet of which 
victors received their crowns. 

Other temples stood in the grove, with great colonnaded galleries and rich porticoes, 
while baths, auditorum and race-course and countless statues of victors were gathered 
about in the vicinity. The games took place in the stadium, a great open space sur¬ 
rounded by tiers of seats; the contests were open to men of any rank, so long as they 
were born Greeks, and consisted of wrestling, boxing, jumping, running, and throwing 



I 


SPARTA VIKWKD FROM THERAPUE. 
























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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125 


Sparta. 

quoits and javelins. There were also horse races and chariot races, that displayed the 
most magnificent animals and finest horsemanship in the country. The only prize given 
by the judges to the conqueror was a garland of wild olive; but he who won this felt 
that he had secured one of the greatest treasures of life. It was the ambition of the 
noblest youths of the land to receive this simple token and have their names proclaimed 
as victor before the great assembly of Elis. He was then looked upon as conferring 
everlasting glory on his family and country; his fellow-citizens took pleasure in paying 
him greatest honor; his statue was put in the Altis, or sacred grove, and when he re¬ 
turned to his native city the people met him with a triumphant procession, and as he 
passed with it through the streets his praises were sung in the loftiest strains of poetry. 
From that time, according to the customs of some states, he had a right to the front 
seat at all public games and shows, a place by the king in battle, and from the city he 
received a gift of money and freedom from all taxes. 

The greatest inducements were offered by the laws of Sparta. This was the most 
war-like of the Grecian nations, and excelled all others in its attention to exercise, 
games, and every institution for making its men strong, powerful and skillful warriors. 
It was situated on the southern shore of the peninsula, and, after the fall of Athens, 
ruled Greece for thirty-four years, from 405 to 371 b.c. The capital of the state was 
also called Sparta. Although this city once ruled the Peloponnesus and the greater 
part of Greece, it was not famous for its appearance nor the way in which it was built. 
It had not the splendid buildings nor magnificent adornments for which other ancient 
cities were renowned, and it lacked the luxuries which made attractive its rival cities in 
other parts of Greece. If the inhabitants had deserted their homes and only the vacant 
buildings and silent streets had remained in it, one would have dreamed of its having had 
as great power and as wide an influence as Athens, for example. Yet, after the fall of 
Athenian rule, Sparta or Lacedaemon was the leading state in Greece. Its greatness 
was not like that of its great rival; it was its military power, due to rigid laws and the in¬ 
stitutions, the customs and the habits of a people who directed all their energies toward 
being supreme in war. In the very earliest times the government was carried on by 
two kings, who ruled together with equal power and authority, and this continued 
through the rule of fifty-seven pairs of princes. Finally, Lycurgus, the great law-giver, 
who really may be said to have founded the famous state of Sparta, was made king, 
ruling alone; but he only reigned for eight months. Becoming dissatisfied with the laws 
of the country and the way in which they were enforced, he left the throne to others, 
and traveled about the world studying and comparing the different nations, and plan¬ 
ning a model government. Returning to the city after some time he at once altered 
the whole constitution, and got thirty of the most prominent citizens to help him in 
putting the new laws in force. The first and most important thing Lycurgus did was to 
form a senate which shared in the power of the kings, and had equal authority with 


126 


Cities of the Ancie7it \]^07'ld, 

them. This body, which had twenty-eight members, was intended to look after the good 
of both the kings and the people. There was also an assembly of all the citizens, which 
met now and then to accept or reject what might be proposed to them by the senate or 
kings. In addition to all this, there were five men called Ephors, elected every year by 
the people, from their own number, who had a great deal of power, and who in later 
times ruled Sparta themselves without the other officers. Having made these arrange¬ 
ments, Lycurgus next made a new division of the lands, so that everybody might be per¬ 
fectly equal in their possessions and way of living. He made nine thousand lots for the 
city and thirty thousand for the district of which it was the capital, and gave each man 
or woman with a family one of these lots; every one had just enough property to live 
comfortably, but no more, so that there were no poor people in Sparta so long as these 
laws were in force. In order to keep out luxury and extravagance, gold and silver coins 
were abolished, and only iron money was used; as it took a great quantity and weight 
of these coins to make any value, very little buying and selling was done, and only 
necessary articles, like beds, chairs, and tables were manufactured. Every one ate in 
common at public tables in Sparta, and only the coarsest kinds of food were allowed; 
about fifteen persons sat at a table, and each of them had to bring in every month a 
bushel of meal, eight gallons of wine, five pounds of cheese, two pounds and a half of 
figs, and a little money to buy flesh and fish. The private houses of the city were very 
simply built, the law being that the ceilings should be made with no tool but the axe, 
and the doors with nothing but a sav/. Among the most interesting and peculiar cus¬ 
toms of the Spartans was the training of the children, which, though barbarous and cruel, 
was intended to make them strong and healthy. All the sickly and deformed babies 
were thrown into a deep cavern near a mountain called Taygetus, and only the strong 
and well proportioned infants were allowed to live. The boys, as soon as they were ten 
years old, were placed in companies, where they were all kept under the same order and 
discipline, and had their exercises and games together. As for learning, they were only 
taught what was absolutely necessary; their principal education was intended to make 
them obedient to command, to endure hard work, and to fight and conquer. In battle 
the Spartans never showed any fear, and much preferred to be killed than to run from 
an enemy. 

The population of the city and country was divided into three classes: the Spartans, 
the Perioeci, and the Helots. The first named did nothing but govern the state and 
practice the arts of war; they were always natives of the country; the Perioeci were next 
in rank, and had nearly the same position as the Spartans. The Helots were the slaves; 
people of other nations who had been conquered by the Spartans; they did all the farm¬ 
ing, besides being servants to the other classes and helping them in war. As these 
Helots increased in number they revolted from time to time, and many of them were 
put to death. Such were the simple and severe customs of the inhabitants of Sparta, 



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Sparta. 


129 


and it can be easily seen why the city never excelled in learning, and science, and 
art, as did other great cities of the ancient world. Notwithstanding the simplicity of 
the Spartan habits, you must not think that the city had no handsome public buildings. 
The temples of the gods were built with considerable magnificence, and on the Acrop¬ 
olis were several fine structures, chief among which was a temple entirely covered with 
plates of bronze or brass, on which various scenes of ancient fables were represented. 
The Agora of Sparta was a spacious square, surrounded, like other Greek market-places, 
with colonnades, from which the streets issued to the different parts of the city. Here 
were the public buildings of the magistrates, the council house of the senate and the 
offices of the Ephors. The Agora contained statues of Julius Caesar and Augustus; 
there was a place called the Chorus, marked off from the rest of the Agora, where the 
Spartan youths had dances, and wrestling and sparring matches. 


MILTIADES. 



9 




EGYPTIAN CITIES OF THE NILE. 


HE granary of the ancient world from the time of the Jewish patriarchs to the 
I downfall of the Roman empire, was Egypt. It was here, and in southwestern Asia, 
that the true history of the civilized world is said to have begun. The Egyptian na¬ 
tion is the earliest of those of which we have any certain records of government and politi¬ 
cal institutions. The country was long ago divided into two parts. Upper and Lower Egypt. 
Both extend along the region of the Nile; Upper Eygpt being the most southerly, and 
Lower Egypt reaching to the Mediterranean shore. The earliest history of the country 
is rooted in Lower Egypt; here was the seat of the most powerful ancient monarchies, 
and here the two most important cities of the entire continent of Africa now stand.* 
The first capital founded by an Egyptian king is said to have been Memphis, estab¬ 
lished by Menes, at perhaps about four thousand years before Christ. This was situated 
in the Nile Delta, near the site of modern Cairo, and was built upon a huge tract of land 
redeemed by Menes from the river, who turned the main stream of the Nile from its old 
course under the Libyan hill into a more westerly channel, which he cut on purpose. 
At the point where the stream was turned off he built up strong dikes, and spared no 
pains to secure the site of his city from any overflow. Altogether this was a very im¬ 
portant and elaborate piece of engineering, for beside making a new course for the river, 
Menes formed the old bed into a canal to carry a safe quantity of water to a large lake 
on the north and west of the city. About eleven miles below the great dikes the mon¬ 
arch raised the walls of his new capital. The site had fine natural protections in the 
Libyan and Arabian chains of mountains, which were a defense against the river and 
the inroads of the sand, as much as against the robbery and pillage of wandering Asiatic 
tribes; but these did not cut the city off from trade with other countries. There was 
direct communication with the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean. 

Memphis stood just below where the valley broadened and above the opening to 
the Delta, commanding the passage between Upper and Lower Egypt—a fitting place 
for the capital of the whole country. It probably occupied all the space of about three 
miles between the river and the hills. An ancient historian says that the circuit around 

* See description of Cairo and Alexandria in “Great Cities of the Modern World.” 




TYPES AND COSTUMES OF EARLY GRECIAN LIFE. 























































Me?nphis. 


131 



it was over seventeen miles. It was built with three enclosures, the innermost was the 
citadel; this was surrounded with fortifications of a sort of 
limestone, and was called the “White Wall,’’ or “the white 
building,” from which the capital was sometimes known as the 
“ City of the White Wall.” Other names also were given, but 
it was most always called Memfi, “ the place of good,” from 
which we have Memphis. 

Part of the space within the fifteen-mile circuit was oc¬ 
cupied by gardens, villas, sacred groves, and in one quarter 
lay the great Acherusian Lake of Menes, which was sur¬ 
rounded by meadows and canals. The lake probably lay on 
the north and w'est of the city proper, while the riVer—at some 
distance away—extended on the east side; a canal probably 
ran from it to a large reservoir belonging to the chief temple 
of the city, the shrine of Ptah, or Vulcan, where the sacred 
Egyptian bull called Apis lived. This is said to have been 
built by Menes, to Ptah or Hephaestus, the god of creation, 
whose spirit lived in a white bull. It was enlarged and beau¬ 
tified very much by the monarchs that followed, and in the 
course of time because such a stately and notable building that 
it was greatly admired by the Grecian travelers Herodotus 
and by Diodorus, who visited it in about the time of Julius 
Caesar, and were familiar with magnificent architecture in their 
own land and in Rome. Its massive gateways were covered 
with the flat-looking sculptures of Egyptian art, and were 
guarded by two mighty statues of granite and limestone, which 
were about fifty feet high. One of these, the famous Colos¬ 
sus of Rameses IT, is still in existence, lying on its face in 
the sand, with a hollow dug around it, so that it may be exam¬ 
ined. Beyond the majestic portals were vestibules and halls, 
adorned with statuary, and set with shrines. Outside courts 
were built adjoining with lofty carved figures in the place of 
columns, supporting the roof. In one of these Apis, or the 
sacred bull, w^as kept when exhibited in public. Rich gifts 
and thank offerings of fine sculpture adorned it in every part. 

The most celebrated of these was a statue of Sethos, in com¬ 
memoration of his victory over the Assyrians. He held a 
mouse in his hand, with this inscription: “ Whoever sees me, ancient egypiian vase. 
let him be pious.” Amasis, too, placed a colossal statue here, which was seventy-five 









132 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

feet long, and is famous for its position as well as its size; the figure was represented as 
reclining, and no other statue of that time is known to have been placed in that way. 

There were many other magnificent temples in the city, for the ancient Egyptians 
were among the most religious people of antiquity. A distinguished preacher says: “ In 
Egypt life was the thing sacred; all that had life was in a way divine, the sacred ibis, 
crocodile, bull, cat, snake, all that produced and all that ended life; death, too, was 
sacred. The holy animals were preserved in myriad heaps through generations in 
mummy-pits. The sovereign’s tomb was built to last for thousands of years.” The 
Egyptians had several deities in different forms. One of the most celebrated was sup¬ 
posed to live in Apis, the sacred bull, which was kept and worshiped at Memphis in 
a temple of its own, which was either close to or adjoining that of Vulcan. The fes¬ 
tival in honor of Apis lasted seven days, and v/as an occasion when hundreds of strangers 
came to the city. Through the streets the priests led the bull in a solemn procession; 
every one went out of their houses to welcome him as he passed. They pressed as near 
as they could, and would have their children smell his breath if possible, for that was 
thought to give them the power of foretelling future events. When Apis died, some 
priests were chosen to go out in search of another, which they knew by certain signs 
given in the sacred books, for when one Apis died the divine spirit was believed to pass. 
into another creature of the same kind, which the priests must find. As soon as they 
found one with all the sacred marks upon it, they took it to Nilopolis, or the City of the 
Nile, and after keeping him there forty days, they put him on a boat with a golden 
cabin prepared to receive him, and conducted him in state down the Nile to Mem¬ 
phis, where he had a temple-home which was very comfortable for him beside being 
beautiful, with large fine grounds adjoining. Some of the ancient historians tell us that 
the sacred books lay down twenty-five years as the length of time that the Apis should 
live, and that when his time was up, he was led to a fountain of the temple and drowned 
with a great deal of ceremony. His body was embalmed, and a grand funeral proces¬ 
sion took place at Memphis, when his coffin, placed on a sledge, was followed by priests 
dressed in the spotted skins of fawns, and bearing in their hands a staff entwined with 
ivy and ornamented on the end with a bunch of vine leaves, ivy, grapes, or ber¬ 
ries. Sometimes the Apis died a natural death, and then, too, he was embalmed and 
buried with great pomp and most magnificent ceremonies; lamentations were made and 
mourning kept up throughout all the city until another was found. The Egyptians not 
only paid divine honors to the animal, but considering that a wise and powerful god 
dwelt in him, they consulted him as an oracle, and were guided by the omens that his- 
actions were thought to give. 

Close to the temple of the living bull, was the place of sepulchres for those dead; 
this is now called the Serepeum. It consisted of a group of temples dedicated to dif¬ 
ferent deities, and was reached by an avenue of large carved figures called sphinxes. 


Memphis. 


133 


It was very extensive, and had many distinct 
parts, the most remarkable of which was 
occupied by underground tombs filled with 
mummies of all the sacred animals that had 
died from about 1400 to about 175 b.c. They 
filled galleries and many large chambers, and 
some of them were in magnificent granite 
coffins or sarcophagi. These were sometimes 
twelve feet high and fifteen feet long, and 
bore a stone tablet dedicated to the bull which 
it enclosed, and telling in whose reign he 
was born or discovered, who was on the throne 
when he was placed in the temple at Mem¬ 
phis, and in the time of what ruler he died. 
These records have made the apis tablets 
very important in fitting together the dates 
and sovereigns of the early Egyptian dynas¬ 
ties. Other slabs of historical importance 
were placed upon the tombs as a sort of votive 
offerings. About thirty years ago they were 
discovered by a celebrated Frenchman, and 
were removed to the museum of the Louvre 
at Paris. There was an order of monks or 
priests who lived in the Serepeum, keeping 
the sacred records and performing other relig¬ 
ious duties. Menes is said to have been the 
first religious teacher of the primitive Egyp¬ 
tians, and he also introduced the custom of 
having feasts, and set the example of having 
luxurious and magnificent houses. 

According to a great ancient Egyptian 
historian Memphis was the seat of five early 
dynasties, which lasted for many centuries. 
During this time the city grew more and 
more flourishing, palaces, public buildings, 
temples, gates and porticoes of grand design 
and solid architecture in red and white and 
yellow stones and marbles were raised and 
embellished with beautiful decorations and 
furnishings. There are remains showing 



GALLERY IN THE CHEOPS PYRAMID. 












134 


Cities of the Ancient ]]^orld. 

these people had a great deal of skill and taste. They had elaborate vessels of 
bronze and many costly articles of jewelry; but we know more of their religion and 
burial customs than of their every-day life. They lived in the contemplation of death. 
An Egyptian’s cofhn was made in his lifetime; his ancestors were embalmed; and a 
sovereign’s tomb was built to last for thousands of years. The most remarkable part 
of Memphis was the necropolis or city of the dead, in the center of which towered the pyra¬ 
mids, those high and massive monuments which for ages have been among the wonders 
of the world. There are seventy of them now to be seen in different parts of Egypt; 
but the most remarkable are the nine that were set up in the necropolis of Memphis, 
a place not far from Cairo, now called Gizeh. The first act of an Egyptian king, as 
soon as he came to the throne, was to begin building his “ eternal abode.” The tombs 
were partially made by digging a chamber out of the solid rock, and then finished by 
making a huge stone monument above. At first a slanting shaft or opening, like the 
entrance to a mine, was sunk in the solid rock. This was as large as the monarch in¬ 
tended to have his coffin or sarcophagus, and had no rule of length, but ended at some 
chosen depth, where a square chamber was made in the solid rock and highly finished 
with sculpture and paintings on the walls. Now at any time, if the king should die, his 
remains could be let down in a sealed stone coffin; but so long as he lived the work on 
his tomb continued. Over the chamber for his sepulchre the natural rock was leveled 
off, and the building of the pyramid began by laying masses of masonry and square 
blocks of stone, quarried out of the earth close by. The mouth of the shaft was kept 
open, but year after year the monument grew in height and in breadth, each section 
or layer of stone and masonry being kept a size broader than that above it, so that it 
was always a pyramid of huge steps. At the monarch’s death, long blocks were laid on 
each step, and all four surfaces were cut smooth from summit to base, and touched up 
with an outer dressing of masonry. With great ceremony the embalmed and mummied 
body of the monarch in its sculptured and painted sarcophagus, was let down the shaft, 
and placed in the hollow chamber of the rock. Then the opening was carefully pro¬ 
tected by stonework, and the entrance filled up. The shaft opening faced the north, 
and had a stone door ornamented with Egyptian sculptures and hieroglyphs. The 
amount of labor and skill it required to build even the simplest of these monuments has 
been a mystery to all people of later ages; but the work of the Great Pyramid is a piece 
of engineering that fills even the wisest and most learned of modern engineers with w'on- 
derment and awe. This is in every way larger than any of the other pyramids. It cov¬ 
er twelve acres of ground, and its slanting sides come to a point at a distance of four 
hundred and eighty feet above the base. The Washington Monument in the United 
States, and next to that the Cologne Cathedral in Europe, are the only loftier structures 
in the world. It was statted with one underground chamber on the usual plan, but it 
was necessary to make eight other rooms before the monument was finished, to relieve 



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Memphis. 137 

tae bearing of the great masses of stone. This noble monument is said to have been 
built for king Cheops, who died about two thousand years before Christ. His sarco¬ 
phagus was not set in the first chamber, which was almost fifty feet long, nor in the sec¬ 
ond, or “ queen’s chamber,” which is rather smaller and built in the pyramid itself; 
but in a third room, lying beyond that and occupying the center of the great monument. 



THE ROCK TEMPLE. 


It is reached by an inclined passage that ends in a level corridor, beautifully finished 
in red granite, and opening after a short distance upon the place of the royal sepulchre. 
The heat here would have been stifling if those wonderful old builders had not extended 
two small air-channels or chimneys through the stone and masonry to the surface; 
they are about nine inches square, leading to the north and south sides, and giving 



















138 


Cities of the Ancient Worid. 


perfect ventilation. Cheops reigned about fifty years, and so it is believed that the 
hundred thousand men employed upon his tomb were kept steadily at work for half a 
century. 

The second great pyramid stands on higher ground than the first; it was built for 
king Suphis II., who, we are told, reigned sixty-six years; the third is over two hundred 
feet high, and beside that there are six others that have stood here in silence 
since two thousand years before Christ, bearing testimony to the skill of those who built 
them, and treasuring up the pictured customs of past ages. The sculptures represent par¬ 
ties, boat scenes, fishing, fowling, and other ordinary occupations of daily life in ancient 
Egypt. The art of embalming or preserving the body after death was invented by the 
Egyptians. They seem to have believed that as soon as any one died his soul went on 
a long journey, and that after three or ten thousand years it would return to the body 
and dwell in it again. For this reason they preserved the body by removing certain 
parts and putting in spices and salts that keep it from decaying. After that, it was 
steeped in carbonate of soda for seventy days, and was wrapped up in linen cemented by 
gums. The best process cost about as much as would be equal to thirty-five hundred 
dollars of our money; but there were cheaper ways than this, for all classes, even crim¬ 
inals, were embalmed, and their bodies were often kept at home or in public places for 
some time before being placed in the sepulchre. 

One of the celebrated and really important objects in Memphis was a Nilometer or 
measurer of the Nile, which registered the height of the river, and was held in charge by 
special officers. Some historians say that this was movable; it was probably the first that 
was ever built, and was the model upon which later architects improved when they built the 
Nilometer which now stands near the site of the ancient city on the island of Rhoda oppo¬ 
site Old Cairo. Both the measurer and the island are in a partially ruined and neglected con¬ 
dition now. There was once a beautiful garden here, with abundant water, tall palm trees, 
rich-colored Egyptian plants and thickly growing graceful rushes. The Arabs say that 
it was among the reeds of Rhoda that Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses floating in the 
wicker basket. Near the spot they point out there is a tall oalm with a smooth white 
trunk, called “ Moses’ tree.” At the southern end of the island the Nilometer is situ¬ 
ated in the garden of a house. It is made up of a square well or chamber, which used 
to be covered by a dome, and into which the Nile waters come from below. In the 
center there is a slender pillar marked off into seventeen cubits. A cubit measure is 
equal to about fourteen inches. On each side of the well, which is about eighteen feet 
square, there is a recess about six feet wide and three deep; each is covered by a pointed 
arch bearing an inscription very much like those that run around the upper part of the 
chamber; they all relate to the “water sent by God from heaven.” At the season of 
the rising Nile the Nile measurers have always been most carefully watched, and criers 
sent out through the cities to proclaim the level reached by the flood. Every one is. 


Memphis. 


139 


eager to know, for the condition of the country for the whole year depended upon the 
inundation. 

The Nile has been called Egypt’s great artery of existence, through which the 
sandy country draws life and nourishment. During the spring and summer months 
the waters gradually rise and 
cover the hard, dry banks with 
great sweet water lakes. The 
earth, like a sponge, takes in 
moisture enough to nourish the 
trees for a year and to supply the 
crops and all the other growing 
things with life till their season is 
past. Then the soil becomes so 
baked that it seems as if nothing 
could ever grow again, and it is a 
wonder that the tall palms do not 
wither and die. But in a few 
months the life-giving waters 
have come up, and all is changed 
like magic. One of the greatest 
of the earth’s mysteries is the 
cause of this river’s rising regular¬ 
ly once a year for unknown ages, 
and not varying more than a few 
hours in the time and a few 
inches in the height of its floods. 

At the Nilometer at Rhoda it 
begins to rise during the last 
week in June; in about three 
months it is at its height, and the 
country is transformed into a 
placid lake, dotted with dyked 
cities and towns, with numberless 
boats darting about or sailing 
calmly in many directions. The 
mummy. flood remains at its height for 

twelve days; then it begins to 

go down, and the Nile valley is soon like a lovely garden, with stretches of cornfields, 
deep green clover meadows, and acres covered with high-grown Indian corn and beans. 



IN COFFIN. 


















140 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

sugar-cane and cotton, with palm-trees and groves of acacias lying between. The 
sweet, soft waters teem with fish, and the white ibis, quail, pelicans, and geese swarm 
its banks, suffering occasionally from the visits of cormorants and vultures. 

It is not strange that the ancient people, when they saw the waters bring about this 
beautiful change year after year, should have thought the river a sacred thing; and it 
was natural that they should have believed a genius or spirit to be in this, as well as in so 
many other things that did them good or evil. So, among their divinities there was the 
god Nilus, to whom they paid great honor and for whose worship they built stately pil¬ 
lared temples along the flood-swept banks of the mighty stream. 

INIemphis was not always capital of the Egyptian dynasties. Other cities held the 
honorable position for about a thousand years; and then in about 600 B.C., the old-time 
wealth and importance revived, and the king or pharaoh, as he was called by the He¬ 
brews, once more held his court at the ancient capital. This was not for long, but it 
brought back the lost power of the beautiful city, which for many centuries afterward 
•continued to flourish in wealth and magnificence. Several of the dynasties that flour¬ 
ished during these ten centuries were ruled by Upper Egypt, and held their capital at 
Thebes, one of the grandest cities of ancient times. It lay in the broadest section of 
the Nile valley, the river flowing through the midst and dividing it into four principal 
quarters, which are now marked by the villages of Karnac and Luxor on the east bank, 
and Gournah and Medinat Habu on the west. The location was more central than 
that of Memphis, and being farther south, it was secure from the northern enemies of 
Egypt. The site seems marked by nature for the capital city of Upper Egypt; the two 
chains of hills which hem in the valley of the Nile sweep away on both sides and return 
again on the north, leaving a circular plain about ten miles across, divided almost 
equally by the broad river, and protected on the north by a narrow entrance. In the 
days of its magnificence the city, with its necropolis or cemetery, seems to have covered 
the whole plain, and to have been walled in from the inundations by embankments. 
It is said to have been in existence before the birth of Menes, which would have made it 
something like a thousand years old when it became the capital. Its power and prosperity 
arose from three sources—trade, manufacture, and religion. From about 1500 to 1000 
B.C., or during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth dynasties, it stood at the height 
■of its power and prosperity, and was one of the most important cities of the world. Its 
position on the Nile, near the great avenue through the Arabian hills to the Red Sea, 
and to the interior of Libya through the Western Desert, made it a common station for 
the Indian trade on the one side, and the caravan trade with the districts yielding gold, 
ivory, and aromatic herbs, on the other; it was also in the vicinity of the mines which 
thread the limestone borders of the Red Sea; all these advantages, combined with the 
open highway of the river, joined in making a greater seat of trade here than any other 
place of ancient Africa, until the third century b.c., when the new city of Alexandria 


Thebes. 


141 



turned the stream of commerce into another channel. Thebes was also celebrated for 
its linen manufacture, which was an important fabric in Egypt, because a large number 
of the people belonged to the priest¬ 
hood, which was forbidden to use woolen 
g^arments. The glass, pottery, and in¬ 
taglios made in Thebes were highly 
prized, and beside the many workmen 
or artisans thus employed there must 
have been a great many others in build¬ 
ing, decorating, and repairing the vast 
number of great edifices with which the 
city was filled. Another very large por¬ 
tion of the Theban population were 
priests and their attendants, for this was 
the religious capital for all Egyptians, 
and for at times Ethiopians also, who 
worshiped the god Ammon. The entire 
city was made up of mile after mile of 
large and magnificent buildings for pub¬ 
lic and private, religious and secular use. 

Although Homer described the great 
capital as Hecatompylos," or having a 
hundred gates, it was not a walled city. 

The gates were as massive and stately 
as city gates probably, but stood in the 
enclosures of temples and palaces. 

Each temple, it is believed, had its own 
circuit, generally, a thick brick-laid wall, 
with strong gateways, which were some¬ 
times arranged one within another, 
that outside being considerably larger 
than the inner enclosure. The army 
quarters, or barracks, as we would say, 
were fortified too with walls laid in 
;Strong massive blocks, and having an 
incline from the ground level to the 

top of the rampart. The grandeur of Thebes was celebrated throughout the ancient 
world for many things, but chiefly for its temples, which were more numerous and 
more magnificent than in any other place. The center of the city was marked off 


STATUE OF AMENOPHIS IV. 































142 


Cities of the Ancient JVoi'ld. 


in an oblong about two miles long and four miles broad, which was the sacred and 
royal quarters; there was a sumptuous temple or palace at each of the four corners^ 
and almost continuous lines of large and magnificent buildings lining* the connect¬ 
ing avenues that bordered the oblong. The grandest of the temples was situated at 
the north-east corner, on the left bank of the river, where the village of Karnac now 
is. It covered a great square over fifty thousand yards around, which was enclosed by 
a wall of unburnt brick, and occupied by a built-up platform. It stood some distance 
from the river, but there was an avenue lined with colossal ram-headed sphinxes leading 
from it to a flight of steps on the bank. At these steps, a writer says, the devotee of 
Ammon would land, perhaps from some distant city, and filled with amazement and relig¬ 
ious awe, would slowly walk along between the majestic and tranquil sphinxes to the still 
more majestic gate of the main entrance to the building. This colossal entrance is 
about three hundred and sixty feet long, and nearly two hundred high, but without sculp¬ 
tures; the great door in the middle is sixty-four feet high. Beyond this door-way lay 
a large court, occupied by a range of pillars, running down the middle, and ending 
opposite to two colossal statues in front of a second propyton, or grand entrance, 
through which, after ascending a flight of twenty-seven steps, the visitors reached a 
large hall which has a flat stone roof, and is completely covered on all sides with sculp¬ 
tures of the deities. This is the great pillared hall, the famous hypostole of Karnac; it 
is supported by one hundred and forty-four mighty pillars, there being sixteen columns 
running across the breadth of the building in nine parallel rows. There is also a double 
row formed of twelve larger columns, running down the center of the hall. These were 
designed to support the highest parts of the roof, in the sides of which, above the main 
roof, small window lights were cut. Beyond the hall there was a back court with a 
stately portico and recessed door-way. The distance across the hall was about a hun¬ 
dred and fifty feet, while in the other direction rows of lofty sculptured pillars made 
broad aisles three hundred and fifty feet long. The hall alone, without counting the 
porticoes and outer courts, covered more than an acre of ground, in the form of an ob¬ 
long, for the oldest Egyptian architects often followed the plan of making their build¬ 
ings greater in width than in length, and of placing the main entrance in one of the 
long sides. The substantial walls of the “ Karnac Temple ” were covered with reliefs 
and inscriptions relating to the exploits of the great Eygptian kings, Rameses kl., and 
his father Seti. In some pictures the monarch and his hosts are making conquests of 
other nations, winning battles, and gathering spoils; in one the people are cutting down 
trees to open a passage for his armies, and another shows a triumphant return to Egypt 
with many captives. Then there were scenes of peaceful arts and home-work, repre¬ 
senting the sinking of an artesian well to aid in working the gold mines of the south, 
and cutting the canal which united the Nile to the Red Sea. 

This was but one of the many temples in Thebes, dedicated to the great god Ammon, 


TJiebes. 


143 

whom the Greeks and Romans called Zeus or Jupiter. The Egy^ptians represented him 
as sitting on a throne holding the symbols of life and power, and wearing a crown, which 
was ornamented with two feathers and a band falling behind and hanging down to his 
feet. 

Nearly every city of ancient Egypt had a special deity; these were ideas or elements 
in nature personified—there was a god of the soil, the sky, the east, the west, of time, 
and all things that exist but have no real shape were said to have a sort of spirit, which 
took the form of invisible beings. Each month and day, each season aud change of 
weather had its own god, which was worshiped more or less throughout the whole 



SPHINX AP KARNAC 

country, but chiefly in some special place, called a religious capital. It is believed that 
the sacred square of Thebes was almost entirely surrounded with temples and shrines, 
chiefly for the worship of Ammon, or Amun-Ra, the Concealed God or Absolute 
•Spirit. He was supposed to be at the head of the greater deities, for the gods were as 
distinctly graded in those days as the animal kingdom is now. Ammon had a ram’s 
head, and that signified that much of his power was concealed; and the ancient worship¬ 
ers sincerely honored him for a great deal that came from they knew not where. From 
the great Karnac Temple, a dr onto or avenue of sphinxes led southward across the 
eastern district of the city to another magnificent building, where the town of Luxor now 


144 


Cities of the Ancieiit World. 

stands. This was a sublime stone edifice, with lofty gateways, courts and halls. The 
entrance was through two pyramid-like gates, two hundred feet wide and over fifty feet 
high, with two lofty obelisks* of red granite standing in front. Between the tall stone 
shafts and the gateway there were two immense red granite statues, of a man and a 
woman. The propylaa and the noble pillared hall beyond were adorned with sculptures 
representing the triumph of some ancient monarch of Egypt over an Asiatic enemy, 
battle scenes, hunting scenes, and other events in military or every-day life, from which 
it is believed that this structure was a state palace or some important public building. 
From the west side of the Luxor hall the sphinx avenue led to the river, where, at the 
foot of a grand staircase, there was probably a ferry leading to similar steps on the 
opposite bank. There, a continuation of the dromo, called the Royal Street, extended 
across the western portion of the city to the group of buildings at what is now known 
as Medinat Habu. These were a temple, the magnificent southern palace-temple of 
Rameses III., with its splendid battle scenes from that king’s history. A large district 
lying south of this group of palaces and temples, which was probably the residence of 
the monarch, was the vast Theban Necropolis, or city of the dead, which was not only 
more than five miles in extent but went to a depth of several hundred feet. From 
Medinat Habu there was almost a continuous line of temples and public edifices lining a 
street that ran across the \yestern part of the city, to where the village of Kurneh is. 
This was opposite Karnac, and from it ran a dromo which completed the square of the 
sacred and royal quarter of Thebes. 

The whole western quarter was known as Fafhyris, or the Abode of Athor, the god¬ 
dess who was believed to receive the sun in her arms as he sank behind the Libyan 
Hills. It was divided into several quarters, built up with many lofty and spacious 
buildings, and embellished with immense statues. From the western bank of the river, 
at a point above Karnac, a range of hills began, which, bending slightly to the north-west, 
skirted the Pathyris with a beautiful background of green. In their side toward the 
city were numberless temples, palaces, public buildings and ancient dwellings; in a nar¬ 
row valley above Medinat-Habu was the tomb of the queen; and beyond the ridge, at 
some distance north of the busy part of the town, the sepulchres of the Theban rulers 
fill a retired and sheltered valley called the “ Gates of the Kings.” These tombs are 
hewn out of the rock, for the most part, and were great chambers or vaults in the 
mountain sides, far more simple than the pretentious pyramids of Memphis; but like 
them filled with sculptures and hieroglyphs, where vast treasures of knowledge on Egyp¬ 
tian history have but lately been discovered. Among the many kings associated with 
the ancient Theban dynasties the most famous and most powerful was Rameses the 


* One of these obelisks was removed to Paris by Napoleon, and set up in the Place de la Concorde. 
See “ Great Cities of the Modern World.” 




INTERIOR OF THE BURIAL TEMPLE AT KARNAC, 






























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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Tallis. 


147 


Great, whom the Greek historians called Sesostris. He reigned for nearly seventy years 
in the fourteenth century b.c. The Egyptians have many legends of his conquests and 
tell many wonderful stories of deeds which he never did; but, nevertheless, like Semi- 
ramis of the East, Theseus of Greece, and other ancient heroes, Rameses IL did per¬ 
form some feats great enough to give him undying fame, and make him one of the most 
celebrated men of ancient times. He has been called the Numa of Rome and Napoleon 
■of France blended into one character, because that while he was eager to gain territory 
and make conquests, he also made generous plans for the private rights of the people, 
who looked upon him as a sovereign whose slightest wish was a supreme law. He is said 
to have systematically and equally divided the Egyptian territory, and in his ta.x system 
to have made allowances for the injury that property would receive from the Nile. He 
cut canals in many directions for watering crops and for commercial uses, and caused 
dykes to be built to protect cities from damage during the rising of the river. He was 
a warrior as well as king; he subdued Ethiopia, another powerful nation of ancient 
Africa; and going eastward with his vast army and navy conquered Libya, Persia, and 
other countries beyond Syria and the Red Sea. With the spoils from these wars he 
beautified his capital, and adorned many other cities of both Egypt and Ethiopia. On 
another expedition he marshaled his host into Cyprus, Phoenicia, Assyria, and Media, 
where also he was successful and returned with large bands of captives, whom he set to 
work on temples to Ammon and other deities, on palaces for the state, and on monu¬ 
ments and statuary to Rameses’s own glory. It was the golden age of Egyptian archi¬ 
tecture, when whole acres were covered by a single building, when pillars and obelisks 
were raised by thousands to embellish halls and courts that have never since been 
equaled—not even by Rome itself we are told. They were structures that have made 
the country famous ever since for a style of architecture erection that is colossal, 
massive, and grand, with towering heights, huge round pillars, long and lofty colon¬ 
nades, avenues and halls, ornamented in sculpture and paintings that were far ahead of 
anything that had ever been seen in any other country before, although to our eyes they 
would seem stiff and crude, because the Greeks have taught us what real beauty of art 
and the true likeness to nature is. 

Rameses had also a residence in Lower Egypt, for with his vast kingdom, surrounded 
by warlike enemies, it soon became necessary to have a northern stronghold in the Delta; 
so in addition to the powerful city in the broad valley of Thebes, he established a sort 
•of lower capital at Tan is. For some time, however, the court was not held here at all 
in seasons of peace, and the splendor of the monarchy was still centered at Thebes; 
but when there was any disturbance on the Syrian frontier, or the king’s hosts were at 
war with the countries in the north, Tanis became the royal residence; it was nearer 
than the capital to the scene of operations, and at the same time stood too far inland to 
be easily reached by the enemy. While enemies were almost sure to discover in it an 


148 


Cities of the Ancie7it World, 

awkward obstacle against invasion, the Eg)'ptian king found it equally good as a station 
for army stores, as headquarters for reserve forces, or as a post from which to set out 
on an expedition to the east and north-east. During the warlike reign of Rameses, the 
Bucolia was frequently covered with the mustered forces of the king getting ready for 
the forward march, or the gay tents of a quartered army. Egypt had a powerful and ex¬ 
cellent military organization, which was composed of horses and chariots, and hundreds 
of thousands of foot-soldiers armed with helmet, spear, coat-of-mail, shield, battle-axe, 
club, javelin, and dagger for close fighting in dense array, and with bows, arrows, and 
slings for skirmishing and conflict in open order. An army of over four hundred thou¬ 
sand men was supported by a fixed portion of six acres of untaxed land to each man, 
which the soldier could cultivate in times of peace; but he could not follow any other 
business or occupation 

Rameses took great pains to set up temples and beautiful buildings in Tanis, and tCK 
have statues and lofty obelisks raised describing the conquests of his armies and the posi¬ 
tion of his dynasty in the history of Egypt and the world. The statuary was made with 
the figures either standing bolt upright, or kneeling on both knees, or sitting with the 
legs and arms in stiff positions. The work was always finished with remarkably fine 
surface and clean-cut lines, which shows that the tools must have been well tempered 
and had an excellent edge. Egyptian paintings had the same stiffness, with no perspec¬ 
tive and little light and shade. The colors were brilliant red, black, yellow, blue and 
green. The columns were modeled after the Egyptian palm, or the full-blown papyrus 
plant, and the wall decorations were copied from the grace and beauty of the famous 
lotus-plant, or lily of the Nile. It was a religious symbol to the people, who venerated 
the plant and held it as belonging to a part of their sacred gifts from the gods; it was 
used in sacrifices and other holy ceremonies, in tombs, and in all matters connected 
with death or another life; it was a symbol of many great things, especially in con¬ 
nection with the rise of the Nile and the season of the sun’s full power. This lotus has 
no connection with that of the fabled “ lotus-eaters,” which was probably the shrub 
called jujube, growing still in Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco, on the northern coast of 
Africa. In the Twenty-first Dynasty, about the year 1100 b.c., the scepter of Egypt 
was transferred altogether from Thebes to Tanis. With this change one of the greatest 
epochs in ancient history began. It was a time, we are told, when the affairs of Egypt, 
Assyria, and Israel united into one stream of universal history. Thus Tanis, the Scrip¬ 
ture city of Zoan, had two periods of power under the Egyptian kings. In the second 
it was the national capital and an important commercial center beside. It was a time 
of peace, of arts, and of gathering wealth. Western Asia was conquered by David, and 
after him ruled by his son Solomon, “ the peaceful,” who made an ally of Egypt. Then, 
during many years of prosperity, Tanis developed such a large trade with the kingdom 
of Israel and the countries further east that it enriched the whole nation. The city was 


Heroopolis — Pelusium. 


149 



founded by the famous Shepherd Kings, or Hyksos, a tribe of Arabians who invaded 
the Nile country in about 2050 b.c. They entered the Delta from the east, taking pos¬ 
session of the country and founding cities as they passed along. First, they conquered 
Lower Egypt, where they built other cities and fortresses beside Tanis; in about 1900 
they conquered the city of 
Thebes, and for about four 
centuries ruled the whole 
land of Egypt. At length 
they were overcome by 
Ahmes, who celebrated his 
victory over the foreign 
invaders by founding the 
Theban Monarchy, in about 
1500 B.C., whose splendor 
and power was the glory of 
ancient Egypt. 

One of the most impor¬ 
tant of the northern resi¬ 
dences of the Shepherd 
Kings was Heroopolis, the 
City of Heroes, which was 
a frontier town at the head 
of the Red Sea, in the land 
of Goshen, which lay be¬ 
tween the Nile Delta and 
Syria. Almost due north 
of Heroopolis, where the 
most easterly or Pelusiac 
branch of the Nile emptied 
into the Mediterranean, the 
famous maritime city of 
Pelusium, the key of 
Egypt, stood. It lay upon 
the great road to Palestine, 
commanding a plain that bust of rameses ii. 

was so narrow from north 

to south that no invader coiild safely pass into the Delta; and south of it, at vari¬ 
ous points along the river were the great cities of Tanis, Buvastis, Heliopolis, and 
Memphis, beside many others of lesser note. Thus it was a depot for Eastern trade, a 




Cities of the Ancient World. 


150 

port of the Great Sea, a sentinel at the entrance of the Nile, and a station between 
maritime and river traffic. It was substantially built, and well guarded, a populous city, 
which the prophet Ezekiel called the Strength of Egypt. 

Heliopolis, also called On, stood near the point of the Delta, and is said to have 
been built on a large mound or raised site, with lakes that were fed by several canals 
lying before it. It was not nearly so large as Thebes or even Memphis, but it was 
finely built, and had great celebrity because it was the capital of the sun-god. The 
Egyptians called it On, or the Abode of the Sun, while the name Heliopolis or “ city of 
the sun” was given to it by the Greeks. This was the Athens of Egypt, where the 
wisest and most learned men of the time used to gather to study under the priests of the 
great deity. Moses, the prophet, was a student there, and the schools or colleges were 
so famous that even the great Grecians, Solon, Thales, and Plato went there to study. 
Manatheon, the writer of Egyptian history, was chief priest of Heliopolis at one time, 
and long before then the father-in-law of Joseph was at the head of the renowned tem¬ 
ple. It was reached by an avenue of sphinxes, from the north-west gate of the city, 
and before the entrance there were two tall obelisks that are now among the most nota¬ 
ble monuments in the world. One of them is still standing on the ancient-site. It is 
said to be the oldest in all the country, and was raised by or in honor of Osirtasen I., 
second king of the Twelfth Dynasty. The same curious inscription was made in heiro- 
glyphs on each of the four sides; it has been translated into the following lines of 
English: 


The Hor of the Sun, 

The life of those who are born, 

The King of the upper and lower land, 

Kheper-ka-ra; 

The Lord of the Double Crown, 

The life of those who are born. 

The son of the sun-god, Ra, 

Oristasen; 

The friend of the spirits of On, 

Ever living: 

The golden Hor, 

The life of those who are born. 

The good god, 

Kheper-ka-ra, 

Has executed this work ^ 

In the beginning of the thirty years’ cycle. 

He the dispenser of life, for evermore. 

Bubastis was in the Delta, about midway between Heliopolis and Tanis, and on the 
eastern bank of the Pelusiac Nile. It was among the first cities founded after Memphis, 



I, KING PHARAOH. 5, COURT OFFICER. 6 , FAN BEARER. 

10-17, NEIGHBORING TRIBES. 


7 , JUDGE. 


8, BODY-GUARD. 


















































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Bubastis. 


151 


but it did not grow to great importance until about 1000 b.c., when it followed Tanis as 
•capital and became the seat of the twenty-second dynasty. It was raised by embank¬ 
ments higher than any other place above the inundations of the river. The city was 
sacred to the goddess Ba-hest or Bast, which was the same as Pasht, the goddess of fire. 
She was represented in statuary as a lion-headed figure. Cats were sacred to her, and 
Bubastis was the great burial-place_ for cats, as Memphis was for bulls. An ancient 
Greek writer says that while other temples might be grander, and might have cost more 
in the building, there was none so pleasant to 
the eye as that of Bast. It stood in the 
middle of the city, in plain sight from all 
quarters, for the city had been raised up by 
embankment, while the temple was left 
where it was first built, so it could be looked 
•down upon from any part of town. It was 
reached by a paved road that led in an 
easterly direction from another temple, 
straight through the market¬ 
place. This entrance was 
about four hundred feet wide, 
and was lined on both sides 
by rows of very high trees. 

Except the entrance, the 
whole formed an island. 

Two artificial channels from 
the Nile, one on either side 
of the temple, encompassed 
the building, leaving only the 
entrance passage. These 
•channels were each a hundred 
feet wide, and were thickly 

shaded with trees. The gateway was sixty feet high, and was ornamented with figures 
cut upon the stone, something like those that covered the long low wall skirting a grove 
within which the temple stood with its sacred image of the goddess. The yearly festival 
in honor of Bast is said to have been better attended than any other in Egypt. The 
old Greek historian said, “ Men and women come sailing all together, vast numbers in 
each boat, many of the women with castanets, which they strike, while some of the 
men pipe during the whole time of the voyage, and the others sing and make a clapping 
with their hands. At Bubastis they celebrate the feast with abundant sacrifices. More 
grape-wine is used up at this festival than in all of the rest of the year beside. The 



ANCIENT COINS. 



















152 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

number of men and women who attend are said to be seven hundred thousand, and this- 
is not counting the children.” 

Under the Twenty-fourth Dynasty, or in about the year 660 b.c., the capital of the 
Lower Empire was transferred to the celebrated city of SaVs. It stood in the Delta, 
on a western branch of the river called the Canopic branch, about due west of Tanis, 
where now stands the modern town of Sa-el-Hagar, or Sa of the Stone, named from 
some modern stone building in the neighborhood. . The city was chiefly famous as a 
great religious capital, and as the last seat of the independent Egyptian Government. 
Sais was built with temples, great palaces, public buildings, massive walls, and stately 
gateways, that stood upon an embankment that raised it above the flood of the high 
Nile, and made it a conspicuous sight to vessels soon after they entered the river. Like 
many other cities of the country it had a fine lake and many canals outside the walls; 
and at one end there was a large, strongly fortified enclosure for a citadel, which was 
mostly made of crude bricks. The temples of the city were dedicated to several of the 
Egyptian deities, but chiefly to the goddess whom they called Neith, the same that the 
Greeks and Romans called Pallas, or Minerva. In her honor the “ Feast of Lamps ” 
was held, which was one of the most important and most beautiful ceremonies in the 
country. At stated times the assembly of priests and people had a special meeting for 
Neith’s sacrifices, and on one of the nights of the festival the inhabitants all burned a 
multitude of lights round their houses in the open air. The lamps were flat saucers 
filled with a mixture of oil and salt, on the top of which the wicks floated. They burned 
all night and gave to the festival the name of the Feasts of Lamps. The Egyptians 
who were absent from the festival observed the night as if they were at home, so’that 
the illumination was not confined to Sais, but extended over the whole of Egypt. 

From very early times this city was closely connected with Greece. It is said that Ce- 
crops went from there and founded a fortress in Attica, which was first called Cecropia, but 
afterward became Athens, and that he gave to the half-barbarous Hellenes their earliest 
laws on marriage and some other things, from which the wonderful Greek civilization 
was developed. At a later day there was a large Greek quarter in Sais, governed by 
Greek laws, with a separate government from the Egyptian districts of the city. This 
was during and after the time of Psammetichus, who died in about the year 650 b.c. 
Before this reign no foreigner was allowed to live in Egypt, and as the Greeks were about 
the earliest history writers it is to the foreign policy of Psammetichus that we are in¬ 
debted for the written history of ancient Egypt. But it was not a policy that benefited his 
own government, for when he hired Greek soldiers and tried to introduce the Greek lan¬ 
guage and customs, he offended the great bodies of Egyptian military so that they moved 
into Ethiopia in vast numbers. The king then had to carry on his Eastern wars alto¬ 
gether with armies of foreigners; and too often after this the Egyptian monarch was the 
conquered instead of the conquering hero of battle. The next king, Necho, gave his 


Sais. 


153 


attention chiefly to mak¬ 
ing his country a great 
center for the trade of 
the Red Sea, between 
Europe and Asia. He 
built fleets on both wa¬ 
ters, and strove to join 
the Nile and the Red 
Sea by a canal. He 
hired Phoenicians, who 
were among the best 
sailors in the ancient 
world, to make explora¬ 
tions; and some of them 
sailed from the Arabian 
Gulf all the way around 
the continent of Africa to 
the mouths of the Nile. 
This was one of the most 
important voyages of 
discovery of ancient 
times. Necho’s most 
notable wars were with 
Josiah, King of Judea, 
whom he conquered; and 
Nebuchadnezzar, King 
of Babylon, by whom he 
was defeated; but after 
him there were several 
kings who made some 
splendid conquests, es¬ 
pecially Amasis. He 
won back part of the lost 
power of the Egyptians; 
and beside being suc¬ 
cessful in war, he was 
prosperous in peace and 
governed his nation well. 
Under him Sais became 
more beautiful and more 
important than it had 



EGYPTIAN WATER CARRIERS. 











154 


Cities of the Aiicieiit World. 

■ever been before, with many tradesmen and merchants, a large commerce, and rich home- 
trade. When Amasis died his son became king, and with the empire young Psammenitus 
inherited from his father a bitter quarrel with Cambyses, the king of Persia, who soon 
invaded the country and conquered it. For the next two centuries the Egyptians were 
almost constantly struggling against the Persians, till the invasion of Alexander the 
•Great, in 332 B.C., united them to the great Macedonian Empire, which its king believed 
to be the world. 

The Great Alexander’s conquest brought an end to the dynasties of ancient Egypt, 
and opened a new epoch not only in the history of that land, but in the affairs of the 
whole world. The independent nation of the Pharaohs became the kingdom of the 
Ptolemies, who held their court at a new city, founded by the great conqueror, and 
called after him, Alexandria. He chose for it the low and narrow tract of land which 
separated the lake Mareotis from the Mediterranean. This was a sheltered part of the 
:sea-shore, about fourteen miles west of the Canopic mouth of the Nile, beyond the reach 
and above the level of the inundations. It was a city founded on a rock, for the soil at 
that point lay over the firm stratum of the rock of the Libyan Desert. It had every 
advantage of situation; two sheltered harbors of the Great Sea on the north. Lake 
Mareotis on the south, and the Nile not far distant toward the east; all of which soon 
became connected by a fine system of canals. Alexander had not long to stay in his 
newly gained territory of Egypt, but while he led his armies on to Persia, he left the 
celebrated Greek architect Dinocrates to carry out his plans in regard to the new city. 
This was done most successfully; in a few years Alexandria became celebrated for its 
magnificence and beauty, and also for many other things. It grew to be a center of 
commerce and of learning for the east and the west. The traffic and intelligence of 
Europe, Asia, and Africa came together there, bringing wealth and civilization, so that 
the new city of the great conqueror soon became one of the most renowned in the world. 
Before it, off the Mediterranean shore, lay the island of Pharos, upon the north-east 
point of which stood the famous light-house of the same name. It was a large square 
tower of white marble, that rose four hundred feet high, and was so prominent and mag¬ 
nificently built that the ancients looked upon it as one of the seven wonders of the 
world; it lasted for sixteen hundred years. The beacon-fire, which was always kept 
burning at the top, could be seen by ships forty miles away. It was begun by the first 
king Ptolemy, and finished by his son, who ordered the architect to engrave upon it this 
inscription: “ Kmg Ptolemy, to the Gods the Saviors, for the Benefit of Sailors ; ” but the 
architect secretly cut other lettering in the marble, which he filled with mortar, and 
made the king’s inscription on that. As he expected, the mortar fell out in the course 
of time, leaving the bold words: Sostratus the Cnidian the son of Dexiplianes, to the Gods 
the Saviors, for the Benefit of Sailors. The island was connected with the city by a high 
and substantial stone dike called the Heptastadium, or Seven Furlong Mole. On the 


A Iexa7id7'ia. 


155 


top of this there was a street, which became a popular promenade, especially after the 

island was built up with villas 


and laid out as a suburb of 
the city. The Mole sepa¬ 
rated the large natural bay 
here into two harbors. On 
the eastern side was the 
larger port, called the Great 
Harbor, while on the west 
lay the Eunostos, or harbor 
of Safe Return. Vessels 
could pass from one harbor to the other through 
two breaks or open spaces left in the wall, and 
the bridges that spanned them were made to be 
raised to let large vessels go through. The 
harbors were protected with magnificent break¬ 
waters, and within Eunostos there was an artificial 
basin called Kibotos, or the Chest, which was con¬ 
nected with Lake Mareotis by a large canal that 
had an arm running to the western or Canopic 
mouth of the Nile. 

The city was laid out in squares, and extend¬ 
ed about four miles east and west; but in the 
other direction it was only about a mile across 
from the walls washed by the Mediterranean to 
those bathed by the waves of Mareotis. In the 
center, where the two main streets crossed, there 
was a handsome temple-like edifice, built of 
marble. It was a mausoleum in which the em¬ 
balmed body of the Great Alexander lay in a 
coffin of pure gold. This was stolen, after a 
while, and the Alexandrians put a sarcophagus 
of alabaster in its place. The streets that met 
here were two chief thoroughfares of the city, 
one of which ran from the Mediterranean to the 
lake, and the other from the Canopic Gate on the 
east to the Necropolis, or burial-ground, on the 
west. Both were wide and busy thoroughfares, 
which were lined with splendid colonnades the 



LIGHT-HOUSE IX OLD ALEX.\NDRIA 

































156 Cities of the Ancient World. 

whole distance,and built up with magnificent houses, temples, and public buildings. They 
were intersected by side streets running to various parts of the three divisions of the city. 
On the west was the quarter known as Rhacotis, after the little town that Alexander found 
there; to the north-east lay the Jews’ District, while the eastern part of the city was 
occupied by the Brucheum, which was the magnificent Royal or Greek quarter. This 
included the narrow peninsula called the Lochias, which ran out from the shore into the 
Mediterranean, and formed a natural breakwater on the eastern side of the Great Har¬ 
bor. The large handsome group of buildings that stood upon it with a view northward 
to the open sea, eastward toward the mouths of the Nile, and westward over the beauti¬ 
ful waters of the Harbor, where there were fluttering sails and high-banked galleys 
gathered from every sea-port of the known world, were the palaces of the Ptolemies. These 
kings were not natives of Egypt. The first of them was a Grecian general in the army 
of Alexander the Great; he came to Egypt because it fell to his lot when the great 
conqueror died, and the government of his vast empire was divided among his generals. 
As soon as Ptolemy took possession of Egypt, others, who would have liked it, made 
trouble; but he had enough energy and talent not only to ward off the dangers which 
beset his realm, but to extend his dominions by conquest over his enemies among the 
islands and along the eastern shores of the Great Sea. When the other generals who 
had received portions of Alexander’s empire, took the title of king, Ptolemy proclaimed 
himself sovereign of Egypt. This was in about the year 300 b.c., and a few years after 
the people of Rhodes gave him the surname of Soter, or preserver, in gratitude for his 
deliverance of them from the siege of the king of Cyprus. 

The latter part of his reign was a time of peace and prosperity for the new kingdom 
of Egypt. He laid the foundations for a good government; he encouraged commerce, 
and soon made Alexandria the great port on the Mediterranean. Its lake, harbors, and 
canals were full of boats, and the broad wharves were lined with vessels loading and 
unloading goods; men were standing about in crowds, and slaves were running to and 
fro past piles of merchandise, and groups of idlers or street-performers. Many nations 
were represented in that motley crowd, and the forest of masts that lined the shore and 
extended out into the lake or the harbors carried sails that had been filled out by the 
breezes of all the open seas of the known world. But Ptolemy Soter made wit and 
learning as welcome at Alexandria as money and merchandise. He was a writer him¬ 
self, and his records of Alexander’s wars supplied the great historian Arrian with the 
material for a later and more famous work on the same subject. At his court, and even 
as guests at the beautiful palace on the Lochias he entertained the greatest scholars, 
authors, scientists and artists of his time; his son, Ptolemy 11 ., whose surname was. 
Philadelphus, and his son’s son Ptolemy Euergetes, or Ptolemy HI., followed Soter’s 
example, and gradually raised Alexandria to a magnificent position in literature, learn¬ 
ing, and art, as well as in military glory, wealth, and commercial prosperity. Not far 


A lexandria. 


157 


from the palace was the museum, where Euclid studied, and perhaps taught geometry, 
and where he met Stilpo the philosopher, Zenodotus, and other famous scholars. Some 
of them were at work upon critical editions of Homer and other Greek classics, and 
first analyzed and classified language so that its study became the science that is famil¬ 
iar to us all as grammar. The museum was a sort of college, a large and handsome 
building, which included assembly halls, lecture-rooms for the professors, and a great 
dining hall. Adjoining was the celebrated library, which was founded by Soter, and 
enlarged by the other Ptolemies till it became the largest and finest collection of books 
in the ancient world. All the learning of the time was stored here in parchment rolls, 
inscribed with copies of the best writings of every author of the past and present in 
Rome, Greece, India, and Egypt. While the greater part of the collection was in the 
Museum, there was also a large number of manuscripts kept in the Serapeum, or Temple 



OLD ALEXANDRIA. 


of Jupiter Serapis, in the Rha«)tis quarter. Altogether there were about seven hundred 
thousand volumes in the Alexandrian Library. This was a very large collection for 
those ancient times, and even outnumbered all but a few of the great modern libraries, 
such as the National at Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Vatican at 
Rome. Our own Congressional Library at Washington, which is the largest in the 
country, has scarcely six hundred thousand books. But a volume means more now than 
it did two thousand years ago. In those days all books were in writing or manuscript 
■on papyrus or on parchment, made up into rolls instead of being printed on thin sheets of 
paper and bound together; they required far more time to make, and were much larger 
in bulk than any of our volumes, so each part of a work was done up in a separate roll 
or volume; so instead of making a long story or poem, like Homer’s Iliad, in one vol¬ 
ume made up of twenty-four books or parts, it was written in twenty-four separate rolls, 
•each of which was called a volume. So, although there were a great many more books 
in that famous old collection, there was not so very much more reading matter than in 
most modern libraries. 

















158 Cities of the Ancient World. 

The Egyptians were the first paper-makers, and probably, in their own way, the first 
book-makers of the world. In the marshes and pools along the Nile they either found 
or cultivated the papyrus plant, and from it made long sheets or scrolls used for writing. 
The plant, which is rare now, is much like the rosh, with soft and green stems, often 
ten feet long. The bottom part, which is in mud and water while it is growing, is whiter 
and more compact than the rest, and under the outer skin a number of thin, filmy layers lie 
one above another. These are what the ancients used for making paper. They were 
taken out of the stem, and laid side by side with their edges overlapping each other; 
then one or more layers were put crosswise on top of the others, until they made up a 
sheet or strip of the proper thickness. Then they were carefully pressed for a time, 
and afterward dried in the sun. The width of the sheets was according to the length 
of the papyrus stem used, but they could be made any length by glueing a number of 
the squares end to end; the scapus or roll was usually made up of about twenty sheets. 
There were different qualities of papyrus paper, known by different names; the finest 
was made from the innermost of the filmy layers of the plant. It was made for the use 
of Egyptian priests, who forbade its sale until it was covered with sacred writings, which 
were usually put on in red or black ink with a reed called Kash. When the paper was 
newly made it was white or brownish-white and flexible; but after a while the material 
would grow brittle and gradually deepen in color. It was the most famous and fashion¬ 
able of all writing materials in ancient times, and became so popular in the days of the 
Ptolemies that immense manufactories of it were set up in Alexandria, that sustained a 
large and wealthy traffic with the various cities of Greece and Italy. It was very ex¬ 
pensive, a single sheet costing more than the value of a dollar; but the Greeks and 
Romans imported it in large quantities, and used it largely in public documents and in 
writing-books. The long strips were wound around small rollers, which the Romans 
called voluinina, from which we have the word “volume.” It was not until some time 
after the beginning of the Christian era that the sheets of papyrus were cut up into 
pages and bound like modern books. One of the most celebrated manuscripts of the 
Alexandrian Library that is now in existence is a Greek version of the Bible. It is at 
present among the precious curiosities of the British Museum, and is called the Alex¬ 
andrian Codex. It was probably made in the latter part of the sixth century after 
Christ’s birth, long after the Ptolemies were gone, and their fair city was in the hands 
of the Arabs. In the vicinity of the Museum there were many of the finest buildings 
in the capital, with much the same appearance as those of a Greek city. The great 
theater had its splendid tiers of seats and vast stage; the public halls their colonnaded 
porticoes, and the temples their sculptured pediments. In this quarter stood the Ccesa- 
riiim with its grand and stately fapade, and “ Cleopatra’s Needles,” the famous obelisks 
from Heliopolis, in front. It was a temple where divine honors were paid to the 
rulers; further on were the extensive Court of Justice, the busy Emporium or Ex- 


A Iexancl7'{a. 


159' 


change, where Alexandrian merchants met day after day to transact business connected 
with foreign trade, and the great Gymnasium, which was so large that just the porticoes, 
with their beautiful polished granite columns, covered fully an eighth of a mile. Between 



Cleopatra’s needle. 

this and the sea was the market-place, which was probably open in the center, sur¬ 
rounded by colonnades filled with rich sculptures and fine pictures. It was overlooked 
by many tall and stately buildings on the sides toward the inner part of the city, while 









i6o Cities of the Ancient World. 

seaward the blue waters of the Mediterranean swept into the vast semicircle of the 
Great Harbor, ringed with palaces and towers and dotted with great hulks beneath 
tall and slender masts; on one side the long and glittering line of the Ptolemies’ palaces 
stretched out toward the gleaming tower of the Pharos, and from that, on the other 
side of the wind-swept bay, the great dike of the Hepstastadium, with its bridges and 
its fashionable promenades, led back to the city. This was the elegant and aristocratic 
part of Alexandria. Away to the east, outside the Canopic Gate, lay the suburb of 
Nicopolis, and the great Hippodrome, where the games, races, and hand to hand com¬ 
bats were almost as well patronized as in Greece or Rome. 

But the grandest edifice in Alexandria was the Serapeum, m the Rhacotis quarter at 
the other end of the city. This was even larger and finer than the Serapeum of Mem¬ 
phis, and it is said to have been more magnificent than any other building in the world, 
excepting the capitol of ancient Rome. It stood on the summit of an artificial hill, and 
was reached from the level of the adjacent parts of the city by a flight of a hundred 
steps. The hill was made with a cavity in the center, strongly supported by arches, and 
divided off into vaults and corridors like the catacombs. 

The sacred buildings occupied a large square surrounded by a portico; they were 
adorned with exquisite statues and every tasteful decoration that the best artistic talent 
in the world could afford. Beside the shrine and the colossal statue of Serapis, it con¬ 
tained about three hundred volumes of the great Library, rooms for the priests, and 
apartments for the vast stores of treasure brought as votive offerings to the god. Sera¬ 
pis is said to have been brought from Greece by order of the first Ptolemy. People 
believed that he sat at the gates of the “ Lower World,” and he was somewhat con¬ 
nected in the minds of the Egyptians with Osiris and Apis, and in the belief of the 
Greeks and Romans with Pluto or Hades. In the vicinity of the Serapeum and 
throughout all Rhacotis, the city had a different aspect from the eastern quarters. The 
inhabitants were almost entirely Egyptians; few of either Jews or Greeks were seen 
upon the streets, and the houses and shops had less of a foreign appearance than those 
of the other parts of the city, while the native dress and customs were retained so far 
as it was possible in a city that had been built by a Grecian architect, under the direc¬ 
tion of the Macedonian emperor, and was the capital of a country ruled by a Greek, 
who gathered about him thousands of important men from the same land. 

The shore line of Rhacotis skirted the harbor of Eunostos, and was lined with 
wharves and quays, where different kinds of merchandise were stacked in high piles, 
unsheltered from the rainless air. There were huge heaps of grain, and of fruit fresh 
from the market-boats, many of which drew up at the foot of the sea-wall stairs; 
here and there were cargoes of black slaves—human merchandise—being landed, or 
lounging in groups, awaiting purchasers. The long colonnaded street crossing Alex¬ 
andria from east to west, led through Rhacotis to the burial ground, or necropolis, of the 



2, EGYPTIAN QUEEN. C), ETHIOPIAN QUEEN. 3, 

II-I2, SERVANTS. I3-I4, NUMIDIANS 


PRIESTESS. 4, PRIEST. 





























































A lexa7idria. 


i6i 

great capital It was one of the largest in Egypt, and was of quite a different character 
from those of the more ancient cities, for beside the vaulted galleries and tombs of Gre- 
Clan style, there were gardens and shops, and extensive embalming establishments. 
It was in a part of the Alexandrian necropolis that the beautiful queen Cleopatra killed 
herself with a stinging asp, rather than be led in triumph by the Roman emperor Augus- 



THE GREAT PYRAMID. 


tus. Beneath the houses in this quarter of the city there were long galleries and cham¬ 
bers where the soft limestone rock was dug out for building purposes. There were also 
immense vaulted underground cisterns in Alexandria that held enough water to furnish 
all the inhabitants with a bountiful supply for household use and for bathing. The 
Greelc cu=Mm of having numerous public baths was very popular, especially in the east- 























i 62 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

ern and central quarters; and was followed by residents from many other countries. Irt 
its palmiest days this great Egyptian capital had half a million or more of all sorts of 
people, who had come from all lands. The largest numbers were of Greeks, Jews, and 
Egyptians, but beside these there were thousands of slaves belonging to great officials, 
wealthy merchants, and other rich men and women, whose households were almost large 

enough to fill a small village. Then there were visitors, on 
pleasure or business—tradesmen, merchants, scholars, ar¬ 
tists, and artisans —people of every trade and occupation, 
who went from north and south, east and west, to the great 
center of attraction. It was the place to win fame, to make 
money, to learn, to teach, to do good, and to do evil. 
There was almost nothing that the world produced that 
could not be found at Alexandria; all that was valuable, 
useful, and beautiful was either made or imported; all crafts 
were practiced there, from boat-building to glass-blowing 
and inlaying with rare woods and precious metals; gorgeous 
clothing and furniture was manufactured there, and even 
ships’ sails were to be found worked in colors and em¬ 
broidered in handsome patterns. Flax that was grown in 
the Egyptian fields was brought to the city, where it was 
woven into fine linen and made into beautiful garments. 
Both men and women delighted in luxuries; they were car¬ 
ried through the streets on gay litters borne by shiny black 
slaves, and wore robes of rich and embroidered material, 
and decked themselves with bracelets, anklets, and a num¬ 
ber of other ornaments of burnished precious metals glit¬ 
tering with jewels. In the year 30 b.c., Alexandria in all 
wealth and magnificence fell into the hands of the Romans, 
and from then it began to decline. In the years that fol¬ 
lowed it saw many struggles and much desolation, passing 
from the power of one country to another; but a new life 
sprung up. At about the beginning of this century com¬ 
merce returned, and the forsaken town revived; and now a modern city, which is one of 
the chief ports of the Mediterranean Sea,* lies beside the ruins of old Alexandria. 


* See description of Ale.xandria in ‘‘ Great Cities of the Modern World.” 





EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS. 
































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COLONIES AND ISLANDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN 

SEA. 


A fter Alexandria, the chief city in the eastern part of the Great Sea, was the 
illustrious capital of Rhodes. It stood on an island of the same name off the 
south-western coast of Asia Minor, and became the metropolis of a great mari¬ 
time state in very early times, founding important colonies in Sicily, Southern Italy, and 
many places. The inhabitants were Greeks, who conducted their government on up¬ 
right principles, and commanded the respect of all who had dealings with them. The 
city stood on the north-eastern end of the island, rising like an amphitheater from the 
sea. It was planned with an artist’s skill, and entirely built up with magnificent and 
stately buildings after the designs of one man. In addition to the palaces, temples, 
halls and colonnades that extended in all directions, the city was embellished with some 
of the greatest works of art that ever adorned any place, ancient or modern. It was 
girt about by strong walls, surrounded by towers, and was approached from the sea by 
two fine harbors. At the entrance of one of these there was a gigantic brass statue of 
the sun. It was called the Colossus of Rhodes, and was celebrated among the ancients 
as one of the seven wonders of the world. The height was over a hundred feet, and 
the figure was so great that a large man could scarcely make his arms go around the 
thumb; but it is a mistake to believe that its legs extended over the mouth of the harbor, 
as the old picture-makers have represented it. The statue was twelve years in building, 
and cost three hundred talents. There were three thousand statues in Rhodes; one 
hundred of which were colossal; for this city was a center of art, and a treasury of 
sculpture long after the schools of other parts of Greece had partially died out. The 
most beautiful work that was made here is the famous group of Laocoon, the serpent- 
bound priest of Troy, and his two sons, which is now one of the rarest gems of the 
Vatican Gallery at Rome. It was made by three sculptors, Agesander, Polydorus, and 
Athenodorus. Beside the schools of sculpture held by these and other great artists, 
Rhodes had also many painters of merit, and a circle of scholars and students in science 
and literature. Then there was the added importance of wealth and prosperity, which 
came from a fertile and well cultivated land, a broad, rich commerce, and a quick, brave 
and hardy people. 


164 


Cities of the Ancie7it World. 

Up to the middle of the fourth century b.c. it was alternately in league and at enmity 
with Athens. It fell, with the rest of Greece, under the sway of Alexander. But 
upon the death of the great conqueror, it threw off the Macedonian yoke, and rising into 
independence, extended its territories and greatly increased its commerce and naval 
power. It formed a league with the Greek kingdom in Egypt, and had a fine trade with 
Alexandria. When Ptolemy I. helped the Rhodians against the fierce siege of Demetrius 
of Macedonia, he received from them, in gratitude, the title of Soter or preserver; and 
was worshiped by them as a god. The prosperity and importance of the city lasted till 
the time of the Roman emperors, but the place was completely destroyed by an earth¬ 
quake in 155 A.D. 

Until the rise of Alexandria, the greatest sea port on the southern shore of the Medi¬ 
terranean was Carthage. This was the capital of a Phoenician colony, which went 
from Tyre and settled upon an African peninsula many miles west of the Nile Delta. In 
an angle made by the coast line as it turns from a northerly to a westerly direction, there 
was once a deep bay, where Cape Bon now is. It was guarded by the ancient promon¬ 
tory of Muscury, while opposite that there was a western headland, called the Fair 
Promontory. On a jutting tongue of land, about midway between, stood the fair 
towers and stately buildings of the great commercial city. It controlled some of the 
best trades in the world, and ruled many flourishing colonies and great towns on the 
west coast of Africa, among the islands, and along the shores of the Great Sea. The 
original city occupied nearly all of the peninsula, which was considerably broader than 
it was long, and presented almost a square coast line to the open sea. 

The northern portion, with one side exposed to the Mediterranean and the other 
to the upper enclosure of the bay, was occupied by the busiest and most closely built 
part of the city; while the southern portion, which was almost square and washed by the 
sea on the east and the south, was known as the suburb of Megara. This was a pleasant, 
shady resort, and was, for the most part, laid out with gardens and groves, in sheltered 
dells and ravines, or upon the pretty hills that overlooked the blue waters of the sea. 
A low cliff, which was a sort of natural defense, ran around the edge, to which was added 
a line of walls. The city itself was divided into two quarters,—the citadel, which was 
called Bosra, and Coshon, or the harbor quarter. The citadel was the highest and 
strongest part of the city. It stood near the eastern shore in the center of the city, on 
a long hill, which measured about two miles around. On the land side it was defended 
by three walls each over fifty feet high, consisting of two stories, and set with frequent 
towers, that rose two stories above the wall. Along these enclosures were stalls for three 
hundred elephants and four thousand horses, with barracks for twenty thousand men. 
Beside this, the whole city was fortified with a line of ramparts that made an enclosure 
measuring twenty-three miles around. There was a large military force in the city, and 
a mighty standing army always ready for defense or conquest. 


Carthage. 


165 

It was an easy matter for the state to raise a hundred thousand troops: and at one 
time the city alone sent out forty thousand armed infantry, one thousand soldiers on 
horseback, and two thousand war chariots. The forces were drawn from Libyan subjects. 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 


whose conquered territory was adjacent to Carthage, from hired Numidians, and slaves; 
they were maintained by tribute from subject nations, from the rich mines in Spain, and 







166 Cities of the Ancient World. 

other products of foreign colonies, and from import-duties received from the enormous 
maritime and inland trade controlled by the city. 

Cothon lay to the north-west of the citadel, for the Carthaginian harbors were on the 
upper side of the peninsula. There were two well-arranged and finely protected basins 
on the lower side of a great land-locked bay, whose site is now marked by the salt pits 
above the modern city of Tunis. The outermost, or merchants’ harbor, w^as protected 
from the bay by a broad pier or mole running out far from the shore. Here was a 
spacious quay, along which boats were drawn up to be loaded before starting out on a 
trading expedition, or to discharge their cargoes from ports far and near. From the 
Greek colonies of Southern Italy or from the more adjacent land of Sicily there were 
wine and oil; from Corsica wax was brought, with slaves and honey; from Sardinia— 
lying a comparatively short distance to the north of Carthage,—the great corn supply 
v^s obtained; from the Lipari Isles came sulphur; and from southern Spain various 
-riuh metals were brought. In return for these goods, the great city sent negro-slaves, 
cloths and gold in great quantities. Other ships communicated with the Carthaginian 
colonies that extended in a long line over the north-west coast of Africa where Morocco 
now is, keeping up trade with the natives, who owed allegiance to the celebrated city. 
There was also in that quarter a large valuable fishery of tunnies, fish that are still 
caught in the Mediterranean and sold in various Levantine and Oriental markets. 

The lines of commerce extending in the other direction reached the great Phoenician 
cities of the Eastern Mediterranean. The merchantmen of Carthage visited every 
coast and island of the Great Sea, and even ventured to the Azores, Brita^i, and the 
Baltic. Beyond the merchants’ harbor, and almost concealed from its view, lay the 
inner haven, the port of the Carthaginian navy. This was close to the heart of the city, 
and had an outlet to the sea on the east, between the city and a large island at the 
mouth of the bay. From the western end of this island a small mole ran to the great 
dike, cutting the naval haven off from the outlet of the merchants’ harbor. On the 
inner side of the enclosure thus made, the haven was flanked by docks, corresponding 
to those that surrounded a small island, which lay in the center. All were furnished 
with Ionic columns, so that the entire harbor was lined on all sides with stately colon¬ 
nades. Between two and three hundred ships could be accommodated within these docks, 
all within sight of the admiral, whose residence was on the island. Strong chains 
were drawn across the entrance, which was only about seventy feet wide. The navy 
was very powerful; in the great days of the Carthaginian state it numbered hundreds of 
ships and thousands of men, and was kept up, like the army, at enormous expense. But 
the government could well afford it, for her people were famously successful in business, 
as their wonderful commerce proved. 

This enterprise extended to other lines, besides: by caravans, as well as by ships, 
they reached the barbarous African tribes that lived inland or along the western coast. 


Ca7't/iagc. 


167 


and with them traded trinkets, saddlery, pottery, arms, and woven cloth of cotton in 
exchange for hides, ivory, gold dust and negro slaves; they also paid great attention 
to agriculture, and the whole of their territory was cultivated like a garden, so that it 
supplied all the food the people wanted. Thus the Phoenician colony made the best use 
of all their opportunities, and, although their state itself was a small territory, they 
planted colonies among the wilds of their own continent, and gained possession of some 
of the most important and flourishing places on the Great Sea. But there were some 
weak places in the nation; one of the most serious was that a large part of the army was 
made up of hired troops, called mercenaries, or men who fought for money instead of 
for a cause. These men having no great interest in the State were liable to break out 



MEDAL OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 


in revolt when they became dissatisfied, and the Carthaginians, having no reason to love 
them, were given to being severe and oppressive. Another weak point in the government, 
was that the few great aristocrats who were at the head of the people, were haughty and 
overbearing toward the lower classes, and did not establish their state on principles of 
freedom to all; they did not try to bring their allies together as citizens and free men, 
whose interests and abilities were wanted by the state; but a few leaders set themselves 
up for the soul of the whole nation, and looked upon the mass of men as servants to do 
their will. This kind of government, called an oligarchy, is a very bad thing for a 
country, unless the leaders happen to be just, unselfish and public-spirited men. 

Adjoining the Cothon on the south and at the foot of the Bosra, lay the Carthaginian 






















i68 


Cities of the A^icie^it World. 


P'orum, which was probably an open market-place surrounded by colonnades, temples 
and other beautiful buildings with roads leading from it to the harbors, to the city gates, 
and to various other quarters. The chief temples of the state were here, large, hand¬ 
some, and magnificently adorned. 

The Carthaginian religion was very much the same as that of their forefathers, the 
Phoenicians, a worship of the stars and of fire. Their great god w'as Moloch, to whom 
children and captives were sacrificed; and who was supposed to appear as the sun. 
Other deities were Hercules, Astarte, the goddess of the elements, such as wind and 
rain; and Esmun, the god of the sky, or vault of heaven. Many of the heroes and 
heroines of Carthaginian history were also believed to have become deities, and were 
worshiped with divine honors and sacrifices. One of the most famous of these was 
Queen Dido, who was said to have founded the city. She was Elisa, princess of Tyre, 
the great Phoenician city on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and lived there 
so long as her father was king. After his death her arrogant brother Pygmalion became 
ruler, and made poor Dido very unhappy by murdering her husband, in order to give 
himself more powder and to get possession of his brother-in-law’s wealth. But before he 
could find it, Elisa formed a conspiracy with three hundred dissatisfied senators, who, 
with a number of other Tyreans, seized a fleet of ships lying in port, and set sail. They 
carried off the treasure and several thousand people, who were glad to leave the beautiful, 
but tyrant-ruled city. After a long voyage westward, they landed on the north coast of 
Africa, not far from the Phoenician colony of Utica. Here Elisa, now called Dido, 
“ The fugitive,” bought a piece of land from the Numidian king, and upon the peninsula 
opposite Sicily, she built a citadel overlooking the sea, and safely fortified in case her 
brother should try to disturb them. After the custom in the mother country, this citadel 
was called Bosra, or the fortification. The Greek meaning of this word was “the hide 
of a bull,” and so there was a story told that when Dido was bargaining with the Numid¬ 
ian king for a piece of land, he said she might have as much as could be enclosed by a 
bullock’s hide. The princess agreed; and at once set her men to work at cutting the 
hide into small thongs, which were fastened end to end, and made to surround a large 
tract, which embraced nearly the entire peninsula. 

Work was begun at once on building a city, which was called Carthage, the “ New 
City.” Dido became queen, and a flourishing state sprang up, which soon rivaled 
Tyre and all other Phoenician colonies. This was probably about 870 b.c., or some¬ 
where near a hundred years before the foundation of Rome. In Virgil’s great poem of 
the Aencid, there is a story of the storm-tossed traveler yEneas landing at Carthage— 
then being built—and enjoying the hospitality and society of Dido. It is said that 
gratitude was never more beautifully expressed than in the great Latin poet’s lines, 
where Aeneas says to Dido: “ While streams flow to the sea, while shadows creep along 
the sides of the mountains, while the sky feeds upon stars, always honor and praise shall 




169 


Carthage. 

be to thy name, whatever lands call me ; ” and it is said that no more beautiful and 
modest answer was ever given to a grateful testimony, than the fair Queen’s reply; “ By 
knowing distress myself I have learned how to succor the wretched.” It was about 
three hundred years after Dido’s time that the affairs of Carthage came into the general 
history of the world surrounding the Mediterranean. Cambyses of Persia having con¬ 
quered Egypt, resolved to gain the beautiful prize of the great maritime city on the 
African coast; but the Phoenician sailors, whom he had to employ, since Persians were 
no navigators, refused to make war on their own children, as they called them, because 
the Carthaginians had been Tyrians, and the Tyrians had been Phoenicians, and the 
larger part of the nation which had grown out of Dido’s colony were Phoenicians or their 
descendants. Although the expedition thus thwarted failed, it called a great deal of 
attention to the city. In about 500 b.c., it made a treaty with the infant republic of 
Rome, and soon after became a marked port, toward which the eyes of all nations turned. 
Xerxes, in his mighty scheme for conquering Greece, is said to have obtained their help, 
and to have arranged a plan for them to invade Sicily, while he made an attack upon 
the main land. The Carthaginians said, that when they invaded the island, it was as 
allies of one faction in a civil war; and perhaps it is true that Xerxes had nothing to do 
with it; but at any rate, in the year 480 b.c., three hundred thousand men from the great 
African state landed at Panormus in Sicily, under the leadership of Hamilcar, the first 
of several great generals of that name. The army was defeated; most of the ships 
captured and destroyed, and the general was slain. The people afterward professed 
him a god and worshiped his spirit, as they did that of Dido. For seventy years 
after that there was a deadly feud between the Greek Sicilians and the Carthaginians; 
the invaders contented themselves with holding three manufacturing towns on the 
coast, and leaving the remainder of the island to the Greeks, but in about 410 b.c. 
they laid plans for adding the whole of this fertile island to Sardinia and their other 
possessions round about. Their invasion was successful, but after they had obtained 
the prize, their army was partially destroyed, and their people much reduced by plague, 
so they were only able to keep a part. For a. couple of centuries, sometimes in peace, 
and sometimes with war, Carthage kept this hold in Sicily, while her conquests else¬ 
where were steadily increasing and adding to her power, wealth and fame. 

Notwithstanding the treaty, which was twice renewed, this flourishing rival was more 
than the arrogant Roman nation could endure. When once they had seen the grandeur 
of the Carthaginian fleets as they happened to lay off Ostia and Tarentum, their jealousy 
was so roused that they secretly hoped an opportunity would come which might give rise 
to open war. Presently they found this, when Roman troops were appealed to for aid in 
settling some trouble between a robber colony in Sicily and the kingdom of Syracuse. 
Another party asked help of the Carthaginians, which went speedily, while Rome delayed. 
They finally appeared, however, and the two armies met and in no great friendliness, for 


170 Cities of the A 7 icient Wo 7 'ld. 

the Romans, after driving back the king of Syracuse, fell upon the Carthaginian general 
Hanno, and defeated him in an unlooked-for combat. This made an open breach, which 
was the Romans’ long desired opportunity; and now that they had landed in Sicily, they 
determined to have war with their African rival, which in their Latin tongue they called the 
Punic nation, that is the Phoenicians. The haughty Senate of the north entered lightly 
upon the struggle; it could not foresee that it was but the first step to a series of wars that 
would last for over a century, and finally become a desperate conflict, not for glory, but 
to save the life of the Roman nation. “Carthage was a powerful maritime and com¬ 
mercial state, in the height of her power and resources, with Spain and Africa at her 
back, and with the first general of the age, perhaps of all ages, to command her vast and 
experienced armies.” 

The first Punic war lasted twenty-four years, and ended in a naval defeat for Carthage, 
with the loss of her Sicilian territory and the islands lying between it and Italy, with 
the paying of over three thousand talents of silver, and restoring the Roman prisoners 
without ransom. Then a peace was made with the military commander Hamilcar, who 
had not come into command until toward the close of the war. Both sides had but ordi¬ 
nary leaders until the appearance of young Hamilcar, who was surnamed Barca, which 
means lightning. But for him the defeat would have been even worse. Shortly after 
the close of the war, he went to the Carthaginian territory in Spain, where his plan was 
to found an empire, which would increase the power and wealth of his nation, make up 
to her the loss of Sicily and Sardinia, and establish a formidable power against Rome. 
His military wisdom and genius, his power over people and winning qualities made his 
enterprise most successful. He extended the Carthaginian dominion, raised and disci¬ 
plined vast armies, and in all ways opened up immense resources of the country like a 
great general, while he governed the country like a truly noble sovereign. He threw his 
whole soul into the great work, and when he died, left it in the able hands of his son-in-law 
Hasdrubal, and his young son Hannibal. For eight years after the wise old founder’s 
death, Hasdrubal carried out his plans, consolidating the new kingdom, founding 
towns, one of which was the celebrated New Carthage, and endeavoring in all ways 
possible to a wise general and skillful statesman to establish a flourishing and well- 
organized kingdom. It was so successful, too, that Rome became alarmed to see her 
rival and enemy in possession of all the southern part of the large peninsula, with its 
rich mines and hardy soldiers. 

Soon there was another rupture, which is known as the Second Punic War, and is 
especially famous for the deeds of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. When old 
Hamilcar in the prime of his young manhood was setting out for Spain, he expected to 
leave his nine-year-old son behind in the fair mother-city; but the little fellow pleaded 
to go so earnestly that the father hesitated. “ You may, if you will promise that when 
you grow up you will be an enemy to that great nation in the North, which covets our 


Carthage. 


171 

wealth and our power, and would take our very homes away from us down here at Car¬ 
thage.” “Father, I will,” the little soldier answered; and then the careworn, manly 
warrior and the fair, bright-faced boy went together through the silent woods and into 
the temple of their country’s gods. There, in the solemn quiet, little Hannibal stood 
before the shrine, and looking up at the statue of the great deity, he swore his father’s 
oath:—“eternal hate to Rome.” Now the father was gone, the new kingdom was 
flourishing, and the time had come to fill his vow. The Second Punic War, which 



HANNIBAL 


began in about 218 b.c., is one of the best known conflicts in anciv^/it history. There 
were great armies, famous generals and long, terrible battles in that conflict; but 
through all the smoke, and above all the roar of clashing arms there rose the one 
figure and sounded the one voice of Hannibal. “ He was the hero of the whole 
contest, one of the purest and noblest characters in history—a man of whom we know 
nothing save from his foes, and all their wrath and envy have not been able to dis- 





1/2 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


figure the portrait, which the facts have forced them to hand down to future ages. ” 
Great as a statesman, supremely great as a soldier, beloved by his troops, and justly 
dreaded by the most warlike people of the ancient world, Hannibal stands forth an object 
of the highest admiration and esteem; two of the ablest generals that ever lived, 
Napoleon and Wellington, both pronounced him to be the greatest of all commanders. 

“ He crossed the Alps after a five months’ march from Spain, for fifteen years main¬ 
tained his ground in Italy itself, defeating the Romans again and again, opposed to the 
cautious Fabius Maximus and the daring Marcellus, but withal he was unable to capture 
Rome, or to subdue Roman steadfastness and courage.” It was an unequal contest. 
Rome had many generals; Carthage only one, and to him she gave but poor support. 
Wherever there was danger he was needed. When Scipio landed in Africa and threat¬ 
ened the old city itself, Hannibal was called home. The two generals met in the battle 
of Zama. Hannibal lost his army, and his country her independence. Spain, Sardinia 
and all the foreign possessions were given up; the navy was reduced to ten ships; all 
military power was broken, and the city was not to go to war again without Rome’s con¬ 
sent; last of all there was a great deal of money to be paid as war indemnity, or sort of 
damages. But even this sad fate did not break the proud spirit of old Hamilcar’s great 
son. He began right away to improve the condition of Carthage; since that was all they 
had left; but the state was run down; the oligarchy was in the hands of men who were 
willing to submit to Rome, and would not support their friend and her great enemy; 
beside they were jealous of Hannibal’s nobility, genius, and heroism; and laid a snare 
by which to deliver him into the hands of the Romans, so that he fled to Syria, but was 
so tracked from place to place by his foes, that he poisoned himself. Carthage had 
turned against him, and in doing that had rid herself of all Rome had to fear; so with 
one more effort in a four years’ war the city was entirely destroyed, “ the victim of 
Roman ambition.” 

The island of Sicily was but about a hundred miles from Carthage. On its southern 
shore there were several important places, the greatest of which was Agrigentum. It 
was founded in 582 b.c., by a branch of the Grecian people, called the Dorians. It 
grew very rapidly, and soon became one of the most powerful and prosperous of ancient 
Mediterranean cities; it was celebrated for the grandeur of its public buildings, and 
within a century after its foundation it was called by the celebrated Grecian poet Pindar, 

“ the fairest of mortal cities.” In the early part of the third century b.c., it was prob¬ 
ably the largest and most magnificent city in any portion of the Greek dominions. In 
the early part of its history it was ruled by Phalaris, whose name has been handed down 
as that of the cruelest tyrant that ever lived. He reigned for sixteen years, putting to 
death every great man of his dominions for fear of being rivaled, extending his territory 
by the aid of hired armies; and entertaining himself with most iitrocious cruelties. The 
story is told that at one time he caused a man named Perillus to make a great bull of ' 


Syracuse. 


173 


brass, in which he roasted people alive, seizing Perillus for his first victim. For this 
inhuman deed, and many others like it, the name of the tyrant of Agrigentum has been 
handed down as a byword, and as “ cruel as Phalaris,” is the last degree of comparison 
for inhuman conduct. His cruelties made him so hateful to all the people, that they 
suddenly rose in indignation and put him to death. After the Carthaginians had made 
up their minds to become masters of Sicily, Agrigentum was one of the first places they 
attacked. Its two hundred thousand people were unable to cope with the great southern 
forces. The city was sacked and destroyed in 405. But it soon rose again, although 
never to so great power and beauty. In the course of the Punic War it fell under tire 
Romans. The site is now occupied by the town of Girgenti. 

The most famous of all Sicilian cities was Syracuse, which rose after the palmy days 
of Agrigentum. It was founded about the same time as Rome, that is some time in 700 
B.C., by Archias, a noble Corinthian. He set out from the fair city of the Peloponnesean 
isthmus, with a number of his countrymen, to find a location in the far west. They 
finally settled upon the island of Ortygia, near the eastern coast of Sicily; here they 
established a city and a colony, which became the most famous and powerful city of all 
on that celebrated island, and grew finally to be the center of importance and interest 
in the history of the Sicilian Greeks. Ortygia was only about a mile long, and half 
a mile broad, but the settlement was soon extended to th6 main land; and had several 
large quarters on the peninsula, near by, at the mouth of the River Anapus. It then 
consisted of five separate districts, with two fine harbors, one on the west of the island 
at the mouth of the river was a very large and splendid natural bay five miles in circum¬ 
ference. This was called the Great Port; the other, known as the Little Port, was 
sheltered by the island on the south, and the main-land on the north and west. It was 
also called Laccius, and was spacious enough to receive a large fleet of ships. 

On Ortygia, overlooking the docks and wharves of the strong Syracusan navy, stood 
the castle or citadel, fronting the main-land. Above, lay the “outer city’’ defended 
on the land side by a stout wall and the natural formation of the ground, which was in 
some places very steep; the protection toward the Mediterranean on the north and east 
was a high, solid sea-wall that it was almost impossible to overcome. This quarter be¬ 
came the largest and most thickly settled of any in the city, containing the market-place 
—called by the Greek name of agora—a temple of Zeus, the Prytatieuvi, or town hall, 
with splendid statues, one of which was a figure of the Greek poetess Sappho, whose 
Ode to Aphrodite is one of the most beautiful lyrics that was ever written in any lan¬ 
guage. This was one of the chief places in the city, where the magistrates called 
Prytanes held their assemblies and had great dinners: when any one did a special 
service to the state, he was invited to the Prytaneum, honored with a reception, and 
entertained at public expense. 

To the north-west of the outer city, there were new quarters called Tyche and 


174 


Cities of the Ancie^it World. 

Neapolis, which were at first unfortified suburbs, but afterward enclosed within the walls. 
Between them the ground rose gently to the summit of hills called Epipols, which ran 
westward from about the center of Syracuse; near the foot of the first rise was the sacred 
grove and temple of Apollo. There was a low and rather marshy stretch of ground 
between Neapolis, the New City, and Ortygia, which was used partly for a burial 
ground, and partly for games and religious processions. Neapolis grew from a mere 
adjoining district of Ortygia to one of the finest parts of the city, containing the theater, 
amphitheater cut out of the solid rock, and many of the greatest of the temples and 
public buildings. Here and in other quarters there were rich palaces and villas, aque¬ 
ducts, magnificent baths, and a famous spring called the Fountain of Arethusa. Like 
that of many Grecian colonies, the early government of Syracuse was an oligarchy,— 
that is, it was in the hands of a few persons. A small number of rich and powerful 
families managed everything, while the mass of the people formed a large and discon¬ 
tented party, called a democracy, which broke out into a revolution in 486; but before 
long it was peaceably flourishing again under the rule of a great statesman called Gelon. 
He was a wise and popular leader, who warded off the Carthaginian enemies, and kept 
the state in peace abroad; who extended the size of the city and increased her import¬ 
ance in wealth and military prowess. After his death, the same progressive govern¬ 
ment was carried on by his brother, who was the famous Hieron, or Hiero. And at 
this time, about the middle of the fifth century b.c., Syracuse became not only fair, 
stately and beautiful to look at, powerful and flourishing as a state, but an attractive 
place for literary culture. The celebrated ^Fschylus visited it from Athens, and another 
poet, Pindar—one of the greatest of Grecian writers—was entertained at the court of 
Hiero, and wrote odes upon the victories won by the chariots of the Syracusan king at 
the Olympian contests. During this reign the Syracusans won a brilliant victory in re¬ 
pulsing an attack from the Athenians, who w^ere now on the down-grade from their 
power. An English historian says: “It was the last effort of Athens for the empire 
of the world, and it was decisively fought and irretrievably lost. In a grand land-flght, 
and in a series of sea-encounters the Athenian military and naval force was utterly van¬ 
quished. 

Then, during many years of pride and power, Syracuse spread her sway over nearly 
all of Sicily, adding many rich cities to her domain, especially under the ruler Dionysius 
I., whom the Greeks called a Tyrant, meaning sole governor. But the state had a serious 
set-back in a struggle with Carthage; but she tried again before long, and was then success¬ 
ful. From the beginning the government of Syracuse was constantly changing between 
an oligarchy, a democracy, and a despotism. Toward the last of the third century b.c., 
the democracy then in power made considerable disturbance, and a descendant of old 
Gelon, named Hieron IE, was chosen king. This opened a long, peaceful and pros¬ 
perous administration for the great city and her state. A treaty was made with Rome, 



175 



PATMOS. 

State, and a city of grandeur and power linked to the Roman state; but the connection 
was easily broken by foolish young Hieronymus who followed, and transferred his 
allegiance at once to Carthage. In scorching indignation and swift hatred Rome laid a 


Syracuse. 


and for nearly fifty years the mistress of the North had a faithful ally in this master of 
the South. During the second Punic War their assistance to Rome was willingly given 
against their old enemy Carthage. In 216 b.c., the wise old king died, leaving a united 





17 ^ Cities of the Ancient World. 

determined siege, which lasted for two years. She would have conquered the city in 
less time, if it had not been for the great mathematician Archimedes, who devoted 
himself and his great genius to inventions for defending his native city. There are 
wonderful stories told of his contrivances. One is that he made huge engines, which 
lifted the Roman ships entirely out of the water, and let them drop with so much force 
that they sunk; he is also said to have set other vessels on fire by means of burning 
glasses used in the sun. These may be exaggerations, but it is certainly true that by 
his wonderful genius he kept the enemy at bay, and for a long time turned their siege 
into a blockade. He was so deeply at work on a problem when the city was entered, 
that he know nothing of it until he looked up from his desk and saw a Roman soldier 
beside him. Marcellus, who was at the head of the besieging army, had given orders 
that no harm should be allowed to befall the great philosopher, and even offered a reward 
to any one who should bring him safely to him; the soldier ordered the grand old man 
to go along as a prisoner, and when Archimedes refused, perhaps not knowing this was 
the great genius of Syracuse, he drew a sword and killed him. Marcellus was very much 
grieved, and built a monument over his noble enemy’s grave. From this time Syracuse 
was no longer great. Like all other Sicilian cities under Rome, it sank to a town of 
small importance, which was almost completely destroyed by the Saracens. There is a 
village there now on the ancient Ortygia, which has become a peninsula linked by an. 
isthmus to the main island. 



ARABIA. 


T he vast oblong peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, Syria and the 
western arm of the Indian Ocean was portioned off by ancient geographers into 
three divisions. These were Petraea, or the Stony; Deserta, the Desert; and 
Felix, the Happy. Their boundary lines were not at all precisely reckoned, but Petr^a 
was knowm as the north-western part of the country; Deserta included all the par¬ 
tially unexplored sandy regions of the interior, while Arabia Felix was the fertile land 
of the western and south-western coasts. In ancient times as now, the population was 
of two sorts of people, one nomadic or roving, the other settled and living in cities or 
towns. 

The Nomads are the tribes who have no homes, but live in tents, and rove from one 
part of the country to another, brave and hardy, but disliking any sort of confinement. 
Bravely for thousands of years the Arabians maintained their freedom, their faith, 
and their peculiar customs against the assaults of nearly all the great military powers of 
antiquity; but there is very little known of them, because they kept to themselves a great 
deal and had but a small share in the world’s progress. The most important monarchy 
that ever flourished in this country was that of Yemen or the Himyarites, in Arabia Felix, 
a prosperous and powerful state. The people were called Sabaeans, after Sheba or Saba, 
one of the early kings, and became a very wealthy and important trading nation; they 
made their capital at Mareb. This was situated on the large oasis of Jowf, which is 
even now a fruitful land covered with many villages. Their wealth and cultivation place 
the Sabaeans in a very prominent position among the ancient, half-barbarous Arabs. 
Their commerce with civilized nations led to civilization among themselves, and their 
enterprise led them to extend it wherever they went. 

The land of the Sabaeans was fertile and delightful. The wide plain was covered 
with luxuriant vegetation. The date palm, flourished and noble orchards and rich vine¬ 
yards were most plentiful. But the winter torrents would sweep down the valley time 
after time, destroying everything in their path. Houses, harv'ests, vineyards and 

177 


12 


178 


Cities of the Ancient JVorld. 

orchards were swept away. Again and again destruction visited the fair and fertile 
valley, until at length one of the kings, Saba or Lokman, bethought him to raise up a 
barrier against these sweeping floods. A great mole, or dike, was built across the valley, 
extending from one ridge of mountains to another. It was of solid masonry, with great 
blocks of marble cemented with bitumen and clamped with iron bars, and presented a 
strong barrier against the destroying waters. It rose to a great height above the city, 
and was so strong that many of the people built their houses on its side. This lofty 
dike converted fifteen or twenty miles of the valley into a noble lake a hundred and 
twenty feet in depth. This was fed by several streams, and a great number of sluices 
conducted its waters to the houses, the fields, and the gardens of the inhabitants. 
Thus Mareb became “the mistress of cities, a diadem on the brow of the universe.” 

The Sabceans were a noble people, unusually large and as princely in their appear¬ 
ance and actions as in their wealth and commercial power. Their devotion to the inde¬ 
pendence of their country kept them brave and spirited; they were famous navigators 
for those days; visiting other lands broadened their ideas, while the intercourse with 
foreign nations that they gained through travel and through controlling about the largest 
and richest trade in the world, gave them polish and self-respect in addition to immense 
wealth. The riches of the Sabaeans were expended in education, art, literature, public 
improvement, and in luxurious living. The bulk of their trade was in gold, perfumes, 
spices and precious stones, and in addition to these articles they exported frankincense, 
myrrh, and other costly balsamic substances, which were more plentiful here than in 
any other part of the world. Ancient records relate that their commonest utensils were 
of gold and silver; their vases were fairly encrusted with gems, and spicy cinnamon 
wood was in every-day use for fires to warm the stately halls of the palace-homes of 
these ancient merchant princes, and to cook their food. The houses had pillars glisten¬ 
ing with gold and silver. The doors were of ivory, crowned with vases and studded 
with jewels, and valuable sculptures and other decorations of all kinds filled every apart¬ 
ment. Men and women wore richly embroidered mantles, beautifully wrought bracelets 
and necklaces of gold and glistening gems. The precious metal was so abundant that it 
was considered less valuable than silver, brass and iron. 

One ancient writer says Saba or Yemen abounded in every production that could 
make life happy. The soil not only yielding the usual vegetation of corn, wine and arti¬ 
cles of common food, but l)alm, cassia, incense, myrrh and cinnamon. The trees 
“wept odorous gums,” and the gales were so perfumed with fragrance that the natives 
had frequently to freshen their sense of smell by burning pitch and goat’s hair under 
their noses. One of the principal articles that grew wild was the celebrated incense, 
which the ancients used so largely in religious ceremonies. Immense quantities were 
gathered in Saba, and carried upon the backs of camels into other lands. One-tenth of 
all that was gathered was set aside for the deity of Saba. Old writers say that the shrub 



1 - 3 , ARABIANS. 


4-5, PHfENICIAXS. 


6-7, ASIATICS. 


8, CYPRUS WOMAN. 


9, SOLDIER, 
































Aden. 


i8i 


from which it was made grew in extremely unhealthy places, which were also difficult to 
reach, and infested with venomous serpents. None but slaves and malefactors were 
employed in gathering the incense, which belonged only to the government. Arabians 
believed that it was so jealously watched over by the gods that any one who tried to- 
steal it was destroyed. 

The Sabaeans held the key to the East, and through them the “ riches of the Indies ” 
had to pass on the way to the great trading cities of Egypt and Syria. Even when in 
about 275 B.c. Ptolemy Philadelphus established an Indian emporium in Egypt, the 
Sabaeans held a monopoly of the trade. Some writers have said that no other nation 
had navigators brave enough to undertake the perilous voyages; others say that the 
Arab sailors would not tell what courses they followed to the country of riches, but took 
great pains to conceal the way and spread the idea that tremendous dangers were en¬ 
countered both on sea and land. Immense prices were paid for these luxuries. In the 
third century of the Roman Empire, a pound of silver and sometimes of gold was given 
for every pound of silk, and this material was then bought in enormous quantities. 
Perhaps one of the reasons that the Romans tried so hard to conquer Arabia, was 
because they could not bear to see their wealth thus flow into another’s hands. 
The Sabaeans were themselves a colonizing people, and spread their civiliza¬ 
tion into other parts of Asia and Africa. The Arabs say that Balkis, one of their 
Sabaean queens, was the celebrated Queen of Seba or Sheba, that went so richly laden 
with presents to learn wisdom of King Solomon, and was afterward married to him; but 
the best historians say that this is not true. The celebrated queen was probably an 
Ethiopian monarch, although Abyssinians say that she was one of their early rulers. 

The Yemenite kings are said to have reigned nearly three thousand years, or from 
about 240 B.c. to 529 A.D. ; during those centuries they commanded the entire southern 
half of the Arabian peninsula. All the people who lived in this territory had to obey 
the rulers of Yemen, and during some of the time the Northern Arabs also were under 
the power of Yemenite deputies, governors and tribute collectors. At last their sway 
was overthrown; the Abyssinians made the flrst really successful invasion ever known 
in Arabia in 529 a.d. In about seventy-five years the old kingdom was re-established, 
but as a part of the Persian empire; and in another quarter of a century it came under 
Mohammedan dominion. In the early part of the Christian era there was a great flood 
that destroyed Mareb, and from that time the seat of the Yemen government has been 
at Sanoa. 

The city of Aden, on the south-west coast of Arabia, was one of the chief sea-ports 
of Yemen. A British town now marks the site of the ancient city, on the upper shore 
of the Gulf of Aden. Vessels from India and other countries of the East touched here 
on their way to ports upon the Red Sea; and Arabian, Abyssinian, Nubian and Egyp¬ 
tian navigators made it a stopping place after going through the perilous Strait of Babel- 


i 82 


Cities of the Ancient JVo7'/d. 


mancleb, “ the Gate of Tears,” eti route to the Indian Ocean. The city had the double 
advantage of standing at the entrance to the great ocean of the ancients, whose waters 
washed lands that contained the richest products of the world; and at the gate of the 
Red Sea, toward which all vessels homeward bound from the East bent their course. It 
was advantageously situated in all ways, and until navigators began to go around Africa 
it was the greatest of all markets for every sort of Asiatic produce and manufactures. 
Even the Chinese traded here; and the population consisted of many people of differ¬ 
ent nations, who made the place wonderfully beautiful with Oriental richness. The 
natives sometimes called the city Athana ; but it was best known as Aden or Eden. 
This means paradise, and was given to the fair seaport on account of its wealth and 
beauty. It had then, as the little town has now, a most delightful climate. A cloudy 
day is very rare. Week after week the sun shines warmly and brightly, its heat tem¬ 
pered by cool sea breezes. It was well built, and had a magnificent system of cisterns 
for collecting the rain water from the circle of hills surrounding the city. These were 
large enough to hold thirty million gallons, and from them all the inhabitants and publio 
places of Aden were bountifully supplied with clear, pure water. They are supposed 
to have been built some time during the Middle Ages. Aden stands on a high and rocky 
peninsula, in a valley that seems to be the crater of an extinct submarine volcano. It 
is connected with the mainland by a narrow, level and sandy isthmus. The great com¬ 
merce and flourishing condition of this port lasted from about two thousand years before 
Christ till some time during the Middle Ages. Under the Mohammedans it became a 
small and insignificant village. In 1838 it fell into the hands of Great Britain, and then 
began to improve, especially after the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, when the 
Red Sea became the great highway between Europe and Asia, and Aden’s importance 
revived. It is now very thriving, with a busy population of thirty thousand people, who 
have gathered from all countries, east and west, north and south. 

The peninsula of Aden is connected with the legendary city of Irem or Arem, built by 
King Sheddah, who is said to have been the hero of many great exploits. Sheddah’s royal 
father founded a city in the desert part of the peninsula, and when the son came to the 
throne, he took great pleasure in completing the work. He finished the buildings in 
the most stately and elegant fashion, and then raised a royal palace, which was a marvel 
of magnificence. The walls were laid of alternated bricks of gold and silver. The 
roof was of gold, inlaid with pearls and precious stones. Trees and shrubs were imi¬ 
tated in rare metals, with flowers and fruits of rubies, and with golden birds perched 
upon the branches; the stems were made hollow and filled with perfumes, so that every 
waft of air was laden with sweetest fragrance. Around the palace there were exten¬ 
sive gardens, laid out in imitation of the Garden of Eden, mentioned in the Scriptures. 
When all was finished Sheddah set out with a splendid retinue to inspect the grand 
establishment, which was designed to inspire his subjects with such veneration that they 


Ocadk. 


183 

would believe him to be a god. But the Arab legend says, Heaven would not permit 
such pride to live, and when the party was within a day’s journey a terrible noise from 
the sky frightened them all to death, and the city was made invisible, although it was 
not destroyed. 

Many of the great Yemenite sea-ports and cities are unknown now, even in name; 
and nearly all that we can learn of this powerful Arabian race is from a few ancient 
writers, who confined themselves mostly to general descriptions, and said very little 
about individual places. “ The men of Dedan,” the Scripture says, “were merchants 
in precious cloths for chariots,” and the old Sicilian traveler Diodorus Siculus, said that 
all the treasures of the world seemed to center there in one universal mart. In the cen¬ 
tury about 200 B.C., before the Greeks ventured to navigate the Red Sea themselves, 
they used to purchase their cargoes of Arabia. But it was only a part of the commerce 
of ancient Arabia that was carried on by water. As far back as 2000 b.c. there were many 
lines of regular communication kept up by caravans. Over sandy waste and fertile plain 
the “ ship of the desert” transported goods from sea to sea. Beside the articles that 
were common to the luxurious houses of wealthy Sabsans, these caravans transported 
large quantities of iron, lead, brass and tin mined from Arabia, Persia and the East; 
ivory, tortoise-shell and flint-glass from India; carved images, javelins, adzes, knives, 
awls and cloths of various kinds from the clever Arabian workmen; military cloaks, fine 
muslins, silks, linens, and other fabrics from home, from Mesopotamia and the wonder¬ 
ful looms of Persia, India and China. Beside the precious gums, frankincense and 
spices, there was sugar taken to the Mediterranean cities as a rare medicine. ,The finest 
was made in India, but Arabia also grew the cane, and made an inferior quality. The 
Greeks and Romans thought the crystals were formed naturally, in a species of reed. 

The ancient Arabs esteemed it one of the greatest things in the world to be a poet 
or orator, or to have a man so gifted in their tribe. Once a year a great fair was held 
for thirty days at Ocadh, when the merchants from the great cities, and the roving men 
of the different tribes had a large general meeting. Then the finest goods, the noblest 
horses, and the greatest poets were brought forward and judged with intense interest. 
Ho land on the globe has ever raised such horses as those of Arabia; and here there 
must have been magnificent displays of finely shaped steeds, intelligent, fleet and beau¬ 
tiful, loved as comrades by their owners, and cared for with devotion and often with 
self-sacrifice. The men took great pride in their horsemanship, and the more fiery the 
mettle of the steed the more highly he was prized. The most valuable breeds were 
raised in Nedjed. Next to being able to command a horse, the Arab desired expert¬ 
ness in the use of arms; next to that, he loved poetry and oratory. The Ocadh fair was 
an important occasion for showing the talents of the writers and speakers of a city or a 
tribe. The poets rose one after another before the vast assemblies and chanted their 
weird beautiful songs, relating national events of past history, and incidents of his own 


184 


Cities of the Ancient World, 

time, tribe or native place. About the only records of Arabian history were kept irr 
this way; the people’s whole stock of useful and entertaining knowledge was treasured 
up in stories and poems. Writing was not in common use, so for the most part these 
treasures were stored in the memory alone, and it is no wonder that the countr)’ and 
people of ancient Arabia are pretty nearly unknown to us. The merits of these songs 
were not always judged the same by all, and sometimes differences of opinions arose as 
to who should have the prizes, which led to bitter quarrels and even to fighting. The 
poet or reciter who was acknowledged victor, was a great hero. His composition was 
inscribed in golden letters upon Egyptian paper, and hung up before the public in some 
temple. Seven only have been preserved, and these the Arabs say are the finest things 
that ever were written. Their poetry was full of beauty and spirit, especially that of 
the wandering Arabs. Their wild, free life, spent amidst grand mountain scenery, in 
hunting, fighting and on horseback; the noble, generous qualities of the leading men; 
the unselfish hospitality and many other fine traits common to all ranks, gave the poets 
inspiration; and the delight with which good verses were received encouraged the com¬ 
posers to do their best. But to every true Arab there was one thing that he regarded 
above poetry, horses and everything else, it was hospitality. No pilgrim, whether friend 
or enemy, out of the ranks of war, asked him in vain for shelter. He would even seek 
wayfarers to care for them, without any thought of return. On every hill the “ fires of 
hospitality ” were kindled at sunset, and the whole country for miles about a town or a 
camp, would blaze with red beacons of safety and care for benighted travelers. A 
stranger was entertained most royally; no provision was too good, and no danger was too 
great to be undertaken by any Arab host for the guest under his protection. The great 
chief Hatim, who is celebrated for having been so generous and hospitable, would leave 
his bed at any time, in the darkest or dreariest of nights, to procure light and comfort 
for any stranger who had found him among the lonely mountains by the barking of his 
dog. The good chief used to send the dog out to bark as a signal that rest and shelter 
could be found near by. 

The division of Arabia Petrjea lay at the head of the Red Sea, adjoining Syria on the 
north, and Egypt on the north-east. It was named from the city of Petra, in Idumsea. 
It was situated in the desert of Edom, about two days’ journey from the Dead Sea, and 
seventy-two miles north-east of Akabah on an arm of the Red Sea. The solitary remains 
of this noted “ rock-built city,” are among the most sublime and mysterious of all the 
ruins of the old world. It is said to have been founded by the descendants of Esau, 
who settled among the mountains of Seir. 

“ Rough as the hands of Esau is the site 
Of Edom’s capital, yet fair her towers.” 

It lay on the route traversed by the caravans which passed and repassed con¬ 
tinually between Syria and the trading cities on the Red Sea; its narrow, rocky 


' Peh'a. 


185 


valley, overhung by mountains, the highest of which is Mount Hor, where Aaron died 
and was buried. The valley is an irregular rocky basin, about two miles in length, 
by a half mile in width, with the sides walled up by perpendicular rocks, from 
four hundred to six or seven hundred feet in height. Small side valleys open into the 
principal one, giving an irregular outline to the city, whose whole circumference was not 
much over four miles. A river flowed through the valley, and springing fountains gave 
forth a plentiful supply of water; the city was entered through a defile of rocks, so 
narrow that often there was barely room for two horsemen to ride abreast. Long cara¬ 
vans of Eastern merchants wound their way in ancient times through this cramped pas¬ 
sage amidst the tombs. Cut in the rocks, at various heights, the sepulchres of many great 
men of Old Testament times were made, for Petra was a chosen spot for burial; toward 
the city the tombs grow more and more frequent, until at length they form a continued 
street of the dead. 

Opposite where the mouth of this gorge opened upon the city, stood the great Tem¬ 
ple of Petra, called the “ Treasure House.” It was a glorious thing to come upon after 
journeying through the solemn rock-bound roadway of the mountains, and was worthy 
this description from a celebrated traveler: “ Winding along the gloomy passage, the 
beautiful facade of a temple burst on our view. A statue of Victory with wings filled 
the center of an aperture like an attic window, while groups of colossal figures were 
placed on each side of a colonnaded portico of lofty proportions, comprising two stories. 
The temple was entirely excavated from the solid rock, and preserved from the ravages 
of time and the weather by the massive projections of the natural cliffs above, in a state 
of exquisite and inconceivable perfection; but the interior chambers were comparatively 
small, and appeared unworthy of so magnificent a portico. On the summit of the front 
was placed a vase, hewn also out of the solid rock, conceived by the Arabs to be filled 
with the most valuable treasure, but its lofty position made it quite out of reach. Almost 
all the important buildings of the beautiful city were hewn out of the solid rock, richly 
'Colored and covered with delicate ornamentations, which the dry climate and sheltered 
position have preserved in a wonderful manner. The front of the entire mountain by 
which the valley is surrounded, was occupied by magnificently cut-out temples, with 
lofty pillars and rich capitals, with richly ornamented roofs, chambers, shrines and many 
beauties chiseled out of the bare rock. There were public buildings, dwellings, and 
tombs without number extending into the ravines and gorges which radiate on all sides 
from this enclosed area. They reached along the roads leading to the place, making 
extensive suburbs to the city. They rose one above another in the face of the cliff, and 
flights of steps cut into the rock, lead in all directions to these dwellings, first occupied 
by the living and at length used entirely as dwellings for the dead. Some of these 
tombs are from three to four hundred feet above the level of the valley. In some cases 
the most secluded and inaccessible cliffs were chosen, and in others the most conspicu- 


Cities of the Ancie^it World. 


186 

ous situations were sought. Some of the flights of steps are very high, and occasionally,, 
far up in the mountain side, quite cut off from the city below, a long series of steps seem 
to rise from the very edge of a precipice. No doubt the ascent was easily made in 
ancient times, where now only a channel for the mountain streams appears. 

“ These rocky tombs differ as much in form, dimensions and ornamentation, as in 
situation. Many consist of a single chamber, ten, fifteen or twenty feet square, by ten 
or twelve in height, containing recesses in the wall large enough to receive the deposits. 
Sometimes deep graves are sunk in the recesses, or in the floor of the principal room. 
The inner part of the tombs have no ornamentation, but a vast number of the exca¬ 
vations are enriched with elaborate architecture. These tombs are now the great and 
peculiar attraction of Petra, and show us what taste and skill were possessed by one of 
the most ancient races of men. The front of the mountain is wrought into facades of 
splendid temples, rivaling in their aspect and symmetry the most celebrated monu¬ 
ments of Grecian art. Columns of various orders, graceful pediments, broad rich entab¬ 
latures, and sometimes statuary, all hewn out of the solid rock, and still forming part of 
the native mass, transform the base of the mountain into a vast splendid pile of archi¬ 
tecture, while the overhanging cliffs, towering above in shapes as rugged and wild as any 
on which the eye ever rested, form the most striking and curious of contrasts.” 

The most beautiful effects of these monuments are produced by the rich and varied 
colors of the sandstone rock, in which they are carved. In many cases the stone is of 
a dull brick-red, but in others it is almost scarlet, with the most brilliant and beautiful 
effects. There are reds, purples, yellows, blues, blacks and whites, rising in successive 
sandstone layers, or blended in charming combination. The red shades gradually 
becoming lovely rose or pale pink, and the white, often as pure as spotless snow, is now 
and then just flecked with red or blue. The yellow of the rocks of Petra is as brilliant 
as that of saffron, and the blue is like the blue of the heavens above the towering cliffs, 
hewn into tall, graceful columns and graceful structures, all of the same sandstone, in 
soft and brilliant colors. One of the especially large and magnificent buildings of Petra 
was the Theater. It had seating room for nearly four thousand people, and was partially 
cut out of the rock, and partly built up with elaborate stone architecture. Here, in the 
time when the Idumean kingdom was opulent and powerful, with a population of over 
twenty thousand, vast crowds gathered to public entertainments, and among the Edomite 
citizens were many foreigners, for Petra was an attractive capital and the point to which 
all the Arabians tended from the three sides of their peninsula. Most of the buildings 
were designed after the style of the Greeks, but some of the stately structures had also 
an Egyptian appearance. One of these is now known as Pharaoh’s Palace; it was a mas¬ 
sive house, thirty-four paces square, with walls surmounted by a handsome cornice, and 
a fine front ornamented by a row of columns. An open piazza ran the whole length 
behind the colonnade; and beyond that, a noble arch, about forty feet high, led into one ' 



Dozrah. 


187 


of the main halls of the building. The cliff-sheltered city was overlooked and strongly 
fortified by a rocky citadel or acropolis, and surrounded by walls. In the third or fourth 
century b.c. an Arab tribe took it from the Edomites or Idumeans, and made it the seat 
of a great transit trade between the eastern and western parts of the world. It had a 
wide fame then, and was visited by many foreigners. Imperial Rome, flourishing under 
Augustus, heard of its wealth and beauty, and felt desirous of adding it to its dominions 
in the East. So, the fair city with its surroundings became a dependency, and was 
finally an important military post, which was held by the Romans and also by their Per¬ 
sian enemies. After several stormy centuries, when northern Arabia and Syria was the 
battle ground betw'een the armies of Rome and Persia, Petra fell under the Moham¬ 
medans, who destroyed it so thoroughly that for twelve hundred years even its site was 
unknown. In the early part of the present century the grand ruins now seen were 
discovered, and it was found that this sheltered valley of Edom contained the remains 
of the celebrated city. 

The ancient Bozrah, spoken of in the Scriptures, was situated about eighty miles 
south of Damascus, in an oasis of a desert on the southern boundary of Hauran. Here 
the Roman post of Bostra stood, and the present village of Buslim is. It was one of 
the greatest and most magnificent cities east of the Jordan. The district of Hauran 
proper, in which the city lay, is a rich plain of almost unsurpassed fertility. Not a rock 
or stone can be seen save on the little cone-like hills that rise up here and there. Cities 
and villages were thickly scattered over the plain; wealth, life and prosperity centered 
around the capital. Massive Avails, four miles in circumference, encircled it, with a for¬ 
tification built of moderate sized stones, strongly cemented together. The circuit was of 
an oval shape, its greatest length being from east to west. There was a city within and 
without the walls; the area enclosed was about a mile broad and less than a mile and 
a half long, while the suburbs lay about on the east, north and west. The principal 
buildings were on the east side, extending thence toward the middle of the city; on 
the south and south-east were private dwellings, built in a very remarkable manner. The 
roofs were flat, and of solid stone; the massive doors and window-shutters were also 
of stone, that in many cases still remain perfectly preserved. From the dates found on 
the ruins and from the style of architecture, it is thought that this is the city to which 
Moses referred, as fenced with high walls, gates, and bars. It was the great strength 
of the citadel, which was widely celebrated in ancient times, that probably gave the city 
its name; Bozrah means a fortification or enclosure. On the west side, numerous 
springs of fresh water now gush out of the ground, which long ago may have fed those 
“vineyards of Bozrah” for which the city was celebrated, and which once flourished 
abundantly. The people took great pride in the appearance of their city; they raised 
temples, palaces and several theaters, and the citadel or castle was one of the largest 
and strongest in the country. It had immense accommodations for a garrison, and 


i88 


Cities of the Anciefit World. 


among other objects of interest within its stout walls was a beautiful theater. Under 
the Roman rule, in the year 105, Trajan made the city the capital of the Roman prov¬ 
ince of Arabia, and it became very beautiful. Many of the glories of ancient times 
were restored, and fine new buildings were erected; there was a temple for the worship 
■of Roman deities; an aqueduct that supplied the fountains in the streets carried water 
to the public baths. The Romans lived here according to their own customs, and the 
conquered Arabians made themselves as happy as they could under western civiliza¬ 
tion. Triumphal arches stood in several prominent public places, and in various quar¬ 
ters smaller gateways spanned the road. By the time of Constantine there had been 
several changes in Bozrah; a native prince had ascended the throne after Alexander 
Severus, and now it was in the hands of the Christians; but when Mohammedan power 
rose this was one of the first places subjected to the followers of the Prophet, and dur¬ 
ing the Crusades, all attempts to take it from their hands were unsuccessful. 


I 


PERSIA. 


T he six hundred thousand square miles of Western Asia now known as Persia is but 
a small part of the territory which, in ancient days, was included under this 
name. The vast tract extended from Arabia and the Mediterranean to the Indies 
and the Himalayas on the east, and to Scythia, the Caspian and the Black Sea on the 
north. It even included Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and a small part of Europe. Arabia 
was the only country of what was then called the Western World, that the great Persian 
Empire did not embrace. Persia proper, or Persis, was a district of about a hundred 
square miles lying on the eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. Along the shore, the whole 
length of Persis was a tract of sandy plain which was the hottest district of western Asia; 
it was often very salty, always poor and ill-watered. But this was only about an eighth 
part of the province, and was merely a strip of lowland between the seashore and the 
mountain lands, which formed the chief part of ancient Persia. This high country con¬ 
sists of alternate mountain, plain, and narrow valley, curiously combined. In some 
places it is rich and fertile, with lovely wooded dells, green mountain-sides and broad 
plains, where almost any crops will grow. The water supply is small; many of the 
streams that rise in the mountains lose themselves in the sand or end in small salt 
lakes; but there are underground channels of spring water which keep the land from 
being too dry. In some places there are a few large rivers and lakes, and at the foot 
of the great gorges that pierce the lofty hills- there are clear mountain streams. These 
last are in the most remarkable part of the country. Scarped rocks rise almost perpen¬ 
dicularly on either side the streams, which descend rapidly with many cascades and falls. 
Along the slight irregularities of these rocks, roads are cut in zigzags, often crossing 
the streams from side to side by bridges of a single arch, which are thrown over pro¬ 
found chasms where the waters chafe and roar many hundred feet below. The roads 
for the most part are not natural, but have been cut in the sides of the precipices, 
which sometimes tower two thousand feet above the streams. 

This mountainous district was a great plateau that formed the heart of the Persian 
country, with its fertile soil and pleasant climate, its grand defenses of vast deserts on 
the north and east, and an unusually strong and rugged mountain barrier on the south. It 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


190 

has been at all times the chosen site for the principal Persian cities. On one of its broad 
hill-encircled plains the first capital, Pasargadae, was built. It was the favorite home 
of the Persian monarchs, and is said to have stood near the site of the modern place 
called Murgab; a famous capital of a famous land that was once the mistress of the 
eastern world, an empire of noble cities, flourishing towns, and broad, highly cultivated 
fields. The ancient capital, with its stout walls, great temples and extensive palaces, 
lay on the river Cyrus or Kores; in various directions there were small streams that 
watered the plain on their way westward to the great Pulwar. Here the great royal 
palace stood, and the treasury of the empire; here the Persian kings were consecrated 
by the Magi, and all the other great royal or national ceremonies were held. Even in 
the first centuries of the monarchy the Persians were very skillful architects, and raised 
magnificent buildings to adorn their capital. The chief of these were probably royal 
palaces, for among the nations of the East the king was almost worshiped, and the 
grandeur and riches of the entire country were mainly gathered about him. 

One of the chief buildings at Pasargadae was in the form of a great oblong a hundred 
and fifty feet long, surrounded by a lofty wall, built of stone blocks; it had huge portals 
and on the jamb of each were the words, “lam Cyrus, the King, the Achaemenian.” 
A colonnade is said to have skirted the inner face of the wall, and beyond it stood a 
noble pillared building that towered far above the height of the enclosure. Near by 
there was another and a somewhat smaller pillared hall. This was built in a different 
style, but had the same curt legend, “ I am Cyrus, the King, the Achaemenian.” It was 
upon a square column in front, that was sculptured with a curious figure from Persian 
mythology. In another part of the city there was a massive platform probably built for 
a temple or for open-air ceremonies. It is still standing, and its great square blocks of 
stone, often eight or ten feet long, show what beautiful durable work the ancient Persians 
did twenty-five hundred years ago. In this vicinity there was another building, prob¬ 
ably a great temple, whose square tower of blocks of hewn stone still stands over forty 
feet high. It is thought to have been used for fire-altars. The religion of ancient Per¬ 
sia consisted in the worship of two great beings, the principle of Good and the principle 
of Evil. The legend is that Ormuzd, the pure, the gracious, the perfectly good, from 
afar saw Ahriman, the dark, the unclean, the spirit capable of all evil. Startled at the 
sight, he set himself at once to put this enemy out of the way; and from that time all 
that was good was brought into existence by Ormuzd. He was the god of good, w'hom 
the Persians credited with creating all their benefits, especially the sun, the moon, the 
stars, the elements, and above all fire. The people worshiped these, and in their honor 
had a priesthood called the Magi. 

They were the “most reverend of the Persians, an important body of men, who 
were the “keepers of the sacred things,” the learned of the people, the philosophers 
and servants of God.” They had charge of educating the young princes, and were the 




















































193 


Pasargadis. 

constant companions of the King. Nothing of importance was undertaken without con¬ 
sulting them, or against their advice. They were supposed to be able to read the future, 
and by consulting the stars to interpret dreams and explain visions, while it also lay 
in their power to call up the dead. The Zend Avesta, their sacred book, claims to be 
the revelation of universal knowledge, and teaches a lofty morality, and in many ways 
makes very clear the distinction between good and evil, between the spirit of light and 
the spirit of darkness. Gradually their influence waned, although it was once strong 
enough to raise them even to the throne; from being the highest caste, the priests of 
God, and the “ pure of mind, heart and hand,” they fell to the rank of wandering jug¬ 
glers, fortune tellers and quacks, and from them the word magic came to signify tricks 
in sleight-of-hand and conjuring. 

The most important object at Pasargadje was, and now is, the tomb of Cyrus the 
Great. He who had built the city and founded the empire of which it was the capital, 
was carried here to rest, after his last great battle. An old Greek historian called the 
famous tomb “a house upon a pedestal,” and that is just what it looks like. The 
“ house ” is small, of beautiful white marble, crowned by a stone roof with pediments 
at either end, above an elegant cornice, like a Greek temple. It stands on a base that 
is built like a pyramid, with seven steps, made gf huge marble blocks. On a great stone 
of the base, there is an inscription that reads: “ O mortals, I am Cyrus, son of Camby- 
ses, founder of the Persian monarchy, and sovereign of Asia: grudge me not, therefore, 
this monument.” 

There are no windows in the “ house,” but at one end a low and narrow door-way, 
doubly recessed and ornamented with mouldings, opens into the chamber of the great 
king. This is a small, perfectly plain cell about eleven feet long, seven broad, and 
seven high, where in the year b.c. 529 Cyrus the Great was laid in a golden coffin, hung 
with coverings of purple and carpets of Babylon. The “house” stood in an oblong 
enclosure made by rows of pillars, or a colonnade. There were twenty-four columns 
altogether, six on each side, placed about fourteen feet apart. This tomb of Cyrus is 
the finest and the oldest certain relic of ancient Persia. Other royal sepulchres were 
hewn out of the rocks in the mountain sides; but this was a beautiful little edifice, quite 
unlike anything else that the Persians are known to have built. A grove of beautiful 
trees surrounded this “ Royal Paradise,” and in the vicinity there was a small house for 
the Magi who took care of the tomb. Near by there is a great block of marble about 
fifteen feet high, with relief sculpture of a curious figure of a colossal winged man wear¬ 
ing an Egyptian head-dress. This was probably intended to represent the king himself, 
or some good genius. Cyrus the Great was a king worthy of this noble monument and 
long-lasting tomb. He raised his country from a princedom under Media, to a mon¬ 
archy over many nations. He ended the barbarous feuds between petty kingdoms, that 
made western Asia a perpetual battle-ground. He was a half-barbarian, like all men of 

13 


194 


Cities of the Ajicient World. 

that age, but he was a great general and a powerful monarch, who gave settled homes 
to immense tribes, and made a mighty empire to flourish in wealth, culture and luxury. 
Unfortunately his half-savage people were not like the Greeks and others nations of later 
times; they could become truly civilized, but had to lose something of military skill, 
courage and self-control while they developed peaceful arts; so while Persia became 
exceedingly large and vastly rich, the luxurious life weakened the armies, and too 
much pleasure made the natures of the men coarse, heavy and selfish, unworthy of their 
empire and its founder. The name of Cyrus is famous now as the greatest king and 
the best man that ever sat on the Persian throne. 

The second capital of Persia was Persepolis, about forty miles by road south-west 
of Pasargadje. Its ruins are now called Chehel Minar, the Forty Pillars, and although 
twenty-two centuries have passed since the time of their glory, they still stand as “the 
most remarkable group of buildings in this part of Asia.’’ It was further south than 
the first capital, but like that, it was near the edge of the plateau, with a mountain 
barrier to the south-west, and a desert not far away to the north-east. The plain on which 
it stood was much larger and more fertile than that lying about Pasargadse. It is called 
Merdasht, and all Persia knows the fame of its fertility, and the unfailing supply of 
water it has from the Bendamir and Pulwar rivers, which unite a few miles below Chehel 
Alinar. 

Darius and Xerxes were probably the monarchs who made the new capital “the 
glory of the East,’’ and the finest city then in existence. An ancient historian says: 
“A triple wall surrounded the place. The first wall was long and high, defended by 
parapets, and flanked with towers. The second wall was in form like the first, but twice 
the height. The third wall was a square, and cut in the mountain, being sixty cubits in 
height. The first wall is to inspire awe, the second for strength, and the last for the 
defense of the palace.’’ The greatest buildings stood on an immense and very irregu¬ 
larly shaped platform hewn down from the natural rock, and then faced about with 
masonry. The platform abuts upon the high rocky hill known as the “ Royal Moun¬ 
tain,’’ and containing the tombs of the kings. The platform had several levels, the 
lowest being about twenty feet above the plain; the topmost was forty-five feet high. 
On it there were three distinct lines of walls and towers, and a great number of buildings, 
occupying the various levels, the highest terrace being crowned by the noblest edifice of 
all. The stone used for the building was of a bluish-gray marble, in most cases highly 
polished. Once a dog belonging to a party of travelers was worked up to such fury by 
seeing his own image reflected on the walls, that his master was obliged to chain him 
and send him away. 

The platform is reached from the plain below by a vast double flight of steps, 
made of blocks of marble. Some of these are so large that twelve or fourteen steps 
were cut in a single stone; the blocks were massive and irregular, clamped with iron or 


Persepolis. 


195 


lead. The ascent is so gradual that a horse can easily be ridden up the staircase, and 
the space is broad enough for ten horsemen to go abreast. This celebrated ascent 
does not extend beyond the edge of the platform, but has been hewn out of the side. 
It is known as “the noblest flight of stairs to be found in any part of the world.’’ 
Above this there is another, remarkable for its ornamentation. The main chamber 
■of the palace was a grand and beautiful hall, fifty feet square, with a lofty ceiling 
held up by many light and slender columns. In the side walls there were window- 
recesses and handsomely sculptured doors, representing the great state and valor 


HALL OF XERXES IN PERSEPOLIS. 



of the king, and hung with brilliant curtains. The pillars, the ceiling, and the cold 
stone walls were probably all coated over with silver, and the pavement laid in many- 
colored stones, and in places covered with magnificent carpets or Persian rugs. It is 
likely that there was a high golden throne, under a purple canopy, at the upper end of 
the hall, filling the space between two carved doorways. At the back of this small but 
gorgeous chamber and at either side, there were moderate sized rooms, reached through 
doorways ornamented with reliefs picturing Persian attendants bearing napkins. Alto¬ 
gether the palace had only.about twelve apartments; it was a simple oblong edifice 



















196 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


twenty-five feet high; it had no second story, and must have looked much like a simple 
Greek temple. It did not cover half as much space as the Assyrian palace, but the 
reason for this is said to be that there were other buildings close by for the king’s 
household, and this palace was composed of only the public apartments, the throne- 
room, the banqueting rooms, and guard rooms. 

When Xerxes, and after him Artaxerxes, became monarchs of Persia, they each built 
new palaces on the platform. These were after the plan of Darius, but on a larger and 
grander scale; so you can imagine how stately and magnificent the great gray stone ter¬ 
race must have looked; one stage above another filled with elaborate buildings, leading 
up to the temple-like palace of Darius; on the summit vast sculptured staircases making 
deep recesses leading to them on all sides. About twenty-five yards from the palace 
of Xerxes was the king’s dwelling house, used mainly as a summer residence; it was a 
long building facing the north, and occupying the entire southern half of the central 
platform. It was more on the extensive scale of the Assyrian palaces than some of 
the others, having many courts and wings, altogether covering a space about five hun¬ 
dred feet long by three hundred and seventy-five wide. The most magnificent of all 
the Persepolitan buildings were the two Great Pillared Halls, which are ranked as the 
“ glory of Persian architecture.’’ One of these, known as the Hall of a Hundred 
Columns, is nearly midway in the platform between its northern and its southern 
edges, and not very far from the rock precipice of the adjacent mountain. The 
Milan Cathedral is the only building now standing that approaches it in size. It is 
also said that this resembles it more in style and general effect than any other edi¬ 
fice. First there was entered a portico over a hundred and eighty feet long and fifty 
deep, its roof supported by sixteen pillars nearly forty feet high, and its portals guarded 
by colossal carved bulls. Behind this was the great hall, a square of two hundred and 
twenty-five feet, ornamented with sculptures and supported by one hundred beautiful col¬ 
umns, in ten rows of ten pillars each. The walls enclosing it were ten and a half feet 
thick, with two doorways at each end, exactly opposite one another. The sculptures in the 
hall represented the monarch crowned and sitting on his throne, or as fighting great mon¬ 
sters. On the doors at the back of the building there was the representation of a throne 
raised upon a lofty platform, with three stages supported by figures. There were deep 
niches and doorways in the walls around the hall, but very few windows, and most of 
the light probably came in through the roof, and fell upon the vast audiences or assem¬ 
blies that gathered in the presence of the king 

But the Hall of a Hundred Columns was scarcely to be compared with the 
other pillared hall, which is known as the Great Hall of Audience. This was 
the most remarkable of all palaces, gateways or public chambers in ancient Per¬ 
sia. It had four main apartments; the largest covered twenty thousand square 
feet, and was surrounded on its four equal sides by enormous pillars. They were 


Persepolis. 


197 



over sixty feet high, and beautifully made in fluting with sculptured lotus leaves 
hanging from them; bell-shaped vases, and capitals of carved griffins or bulls. Mag¬ 
nificent porches stood on three sides of the hall, at a distance of about seventy 
feet, with an unroofed space between. The entire structure, with its many sections, 
is believed to have had no walls at all, but to have been divided up by lines of 
pillars, “a summer throne-room, open to all the winds of heaven, except where it 
was protected by cur¬ 
tains.” Many of the 
spaces between the outer¬ 
most pillars were filled 
with beautiful hangings 
of white, green and blue, 
which were fastened by 
cords of white and purple 
to silver rings attached 
to the columns. 

It is believed from 
the inscriptions found on 
these ruins, that the plat¬ 
form, the pillared colon¬ 
nade, and one of the 
palaces, were built by 
Darius, but that the 
others are due to Xerxes 
are Artaxerxes Oelius. 

The inscriptions on the 
doors of what is called 
the Palace of Darius, are 
probably the most an¬ 
cient that are found at 
Persepolis. They are 
thus translated : “ Da¬ 
rius, the Great King, the King of Kings, the King of nations, the son of Hys- 
taspes the Achaemenian, he has executed this sculpture.” Another inscription 
found on a huge slab of stone in one of the walls, says: “ The great Ormuzd who 
is the chief of the gods, he established Darius King. He bestowed on him the 
empire. By the grace of Ormuzd, Darius King.” The splendor of the ancient Per¬ 
sian court is vividly described in the Bible, especially in the book of Esther, which is a 
beautiful story of Eastern life at court. The proud monarch permitted only his seven 


ROCK GRAVE OF DARIUS 














198 


Cities of the Ancient IVortd. 


^‘chamberlains” to serve in his august presence. Other officers, no matter how high 
their rank, could be admitted to the royal presence only occasionally. Even the Queen 
herself was not expected to approach any nearer than the outer court, unless the mighty 
king graciously extended to her his golden scepter. It was a most royal picture when 
court was assembled; the monarch upon his gorgeous throne, his prime minister on the 
one side, his beautiful Queen on the other, and long lines of magnificently arrayed 
princes and nobles, to whom “ he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the 
honor of his excellent majesty,” stretching out before him. At one time the king gave 
his great men a magnificent feast which lasted a hundred and four days. On another 
occasion he made a “ feast unto the people, both unto great and small.” This was held 
seven days in the court of the garden of the celebrated palace of Susa, which was sump¬ 
tuously decorated and furnished with “gold and silver couches upon a tesselated pave¬ 
ment of red and blue, white and black marble; golden vessels of exquisite shapes in 
which the wine called Royal was served.” Nor was the splendor confined to royal pal¬ 
aces. Throughout all Persepolis there rose glittering palaces of men in lower rank, 
adorned and beautified with all that art and luxury could furnish. Splendid pageants 
passed through the beautiful streets to celebrate some decree of the monarch. When 
the king wished to honor one of his subjects the man was clothed in royal apparel, and 
privileged to ride forth upon the king’s richly caparisoned steed, conducted by one of 
the noblest princes of the land. Heralds ran ahead proclaiming the king’s desire, fol¬ 
lowed by the splendid retinue, which passed through the streets of the luxurious city. 

Persepolis was one of the chief burial places of the Persian kings. Two complete 
sepulchers remain on the hill in the city, and four more have been found in the neigh¬ 
borhood. The most remarkable of these tombs are the two nearest the Hall of Columns. 
They are in a niche, seventy-two feet broad by a hundred and thirty high, and are 
divided into compartments, each highly ornamented with sculpture. Beyond the doorway 
there is a chamber forty-six feet long and twenty broad, containing three small cells 
for bodies. 

After Persia, Media was the most important part of the Fifth Monarchy., as the great 
kingdom of Cyrus is called. The true name of the empire was that of the Medes and 
Persians, for before the conquest the Medes were a very powerful nation. For the 
most part, the land of Media occupied the great table-land that extends north and west 
of the mountains of Persia proper to the Caspian Sea. Its lofty hills enclose fertile val¬ 
leys which grew large crops of corn and fruit; and among the pastures of the Zagros 
Mountains, which bounded it on the east, some of the most splendid horses in the 
empire were raised. The Median monarchy was founded almost six hundred and fifty 
years before Christ, and lasted three quarters of a century. It was conquered by Cyrus 
and became part of the new kingdom of Persia. In early times the Medes were inde- 


199 


Loioer Ecbatana, or Agabatana. 

pendent and warlike, and distinguished as skillful archers. They were wonderful builders, 
too; and some of Persia’s most celebrated cities lay within the Median boundary. The 
most important of all were the two Ecbatanas, one of which was the metropolis of the 
northern part of the country, while the other was the great city of the south. 

The real capital of the ancient kingdom was Lower Ecbatana, or Agabatanaj it 
stood on a rich and fertile plain at the foot of Mount Orontes, a little to the east of the 
Zagros. The modern town of Hamadan stands there now. Full-flowing streams ran 
down the mountains on all sides of the plain, but especially in the north-west, where the 
land was, and is now, covered with a fair blooming carpet, ornamented with rills and 
many groves of large forest trees. While these beauties lay around the stately “ treas¬ 
ure-city of Media,” the snow-crowned summit of Mount Orontes towered above it, shining 
in spotless splendor all the year round. This mountain, now called Elwend or Erwend, 
is noted throughout the East for its mines, waters, and vegetable productions. It is 
believed by many to contain the philosopher’s stone, and some of its grasses are said to 
have the power to transmute metals into gold and to cure diseases. 

The most celebrated building of Ecbatana was-the Palace; it had been the model 
for those at Persepolis and other Persian cities, and was much like them in size and 
appearance. Instead of having stone columns, these courts and halls were set with 
wooden pillars, made of cedar and of cypress. They supported wooden beams, which 
crossed at right angles, while the decorations had wood-work in the spaces between. 
The entire building was covered by a sloping roof, which, with the colonnades outside, 
gave it much the same appearance as the Greek and Roman houses; but the roof of the 
Median palace was made of silver plates in the shape of tiles, while the pillars, beams, 
and other wood-work were coated with thin sheets of precious metals. Old Diodorus 
says that nearly two thousand years before Christ, the Assyrian queen Semiramis visited 
Ecbatana, and was so charmed with the beauty of the place that she resolved to live 
here, and built this palace and a great canal to supply it with water from Mount Orontes. 
The date of its building is uncertain, but we know that it was occupied by the Median 
monarchy, and that it became a favorite summer residence for the Persian kings after 
the conquest. It was magnificent from the first, and was altered and refurnished many 
times by the later rulers. Darius probably beautified it very much by adding marble 
■columns to the rich ornamentation of the south. 

A short distance from the palace was the Acra, or citadel, a strongly defended 
castle which was used as the state treasury and a record office. Here the royal 
decrees and other public documents were put, and the greatest bulk of the king’s 
wealth was kept. The seven thousand talents of silver, that history tells that 
Darius carried off when he fled from Alexander, were probably taken out of the 
Acra. It was built with extra care, and was made particularly solid because it 
was the only walled part of the city. Around it, or at its base, houses and public 


200 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


buildings were clustered, and the business of one of the greatest cities of that time 
was carried on. The people were workmen in gold, silver, and bronze, making metal 
ornaments, which were worn a great deal, and beautifully polished weapons of war. The 
soil was tilled, but only in the rudest way, and small boats were built in which short 
voyages on lakes and rivers could be undertaken. The marriage ceremony of the 
Persians was very solemn; it was performed with the joining of hands, in some such way 
as the modern customs. Women were treated with honor, and children regarded as a 
joy and blessing. A boy was spoken of as a “giver of joy,” an “ increaser of happi¬ 
ness,” and a girl as “she that causes rejoicing.” The sister is “ the good,” “the 
friendly,” while the brother is “ he who supports,” and “the nourisher of the family.” 
Each tribe or clan was something like a large family; the chief like the father, at the 
head. He was chosen and installed in office on account of his wisdom and courage. 
The custom was to place him upon a stone, and perhaps it is from this that the ancient 
Scottish custom came of placing their kings upon the coronation stone. In war it was 
the king’s business to lead, and great armies they were that followed with swords and 
pikes, javelins, bows and arrows, equipped with quiver, helmet, shield and breast-plate. 
The entire country was under the will of the monarch. His word was the highest law 
of the land, and was given in “decrees.” These were issued from time to time, and 
after being copied by the royal secretaries, were sealed with the king’s ring, and sent 
out by special messengers to the governors of each one of the one hundred and twenty- 
seven provinces, after which they became part of the “ body of the law.” The learned 
Magi also kept a book of records, or a history of all the important events of the empire, 
which the king used to consult for guidance, when he had any serious plans to carry 
out, or was in perplexity about warfare or government. If these records had not become 
lost or destroyed in some of the country’s troubles, we should have a much greater 
knowledge of Persia; but, as it is, nearly all the history we have of them is from Jewish 
or Greek writers. 

One of the important events connected with Ecbatana, is the death of Hephsestion, 
the favorite and friend of Alexander, “whom he loved as his own spirit.” Esther and 
Mordecai are said to have been buried here, and the place of their tomb is now reveren¬ 
tially pointed out by the natives. A translation of the Hebrew inscription still to be 
found on the tomb reads: “ Mordecai, beloved and honored by a king, was great and 
good. His garments were as those of a sovereign. Ahasuerus covered him with this 
rich dress, and also placed a golden chain around his neck. The city of Susa rejoiced 
at his honors and his high fortune became the glory of the Jews.” Some remarkable 
inscriptions have been found at the foot of Mount Elwend, one of which is engraved on a 
block of red granite weighing many thousand tons. Arrow-headed writing in an excel¬ 
lent state of preservation is found on the block, which the natives say is the “ History 
of the Treasure,” and that this royal treasure will be found only by him who is able to 
decipher the inscription. 


NortJier7i Ecbata7ia. 


201 


Northern Ecbatana, now known as Takht-i-Suleiman, is said to have been founded by 
Solomon the son of David. Here he is believed to have held his magnificent court wl\en 
the Queen of Sheba came from her distant palace to visit him, and after she became his 
wife he built a summer residence for her on the highest mountain peak adjoining the 
city. Herodotus says the city was founded by Dejoces, w'ho called upon the people to 
spend no more time on their petty towns, till they had built one great royal city which 
should be the treaSure-city of the kingdom. It consisted of a great citadel, enclosing the 
royal palace and great dwellings, and public buildings outside the walls. Later there was a 
commbn plan for laying out a city with the Medes and Persians. There were seven 
walls about the citadel of Northern Ecbatsna; they were large and strong, built circle 
within circle, and so planned that each of the circles rose just the height of the battle¬ 
ment above the one beyond it. Within the last circle stood the royal palace and treas¬ 
uries. The outside wall was about seven miles in circuit, nearly the size of the wall of 
Athens. Five of the battlements of the different circles are said to have been brilliantly 
colored with different pigments, while one of the two last was coated with silver, and the 
other with gold. The first circle was white, the second black, the third scarlet, the 
fourth blue, and the fifth orange. The seventh corresponded with the palace, in which 
the entire woodwork was covered with plates. Old writers say the precious metals were 
very plentiful then in Media and Persia. When Darius retreated before Alexander, the 
seven thousand talents he carried away from Southern Ecbatana were equal to 
about eight and a half millions of dollars, and yet there was said to have been nearly 
five millions’ worth of gold and silver left for Antiochus the Great wdien he took the 
wealthy city. 

On a height near by it is believed, that an ancient Fire Temple stood, which was 
one of the most holy places in Persia. The temple was a square building of fifty- 
five feet, built of bricks laid in plaster. The outer wall must have been fifteen feet 
thick, and a high, narrow passage within this surrounded the central chamber, and com¬ 
municated with it by a broad arch upon each of the four faces. The inner chamber, 
where the sacred fire burned, was square, "with massive walls fifteen feet thick, and 
roofed by a circular dome. The central chamber is quite well preserved and is black 
with the smoke of centuries. The sacred flame upon these fire-altars was never allowed 
to go out, except upon the death of a king, and then, probably, it was not entirely extin¬ 
guished. The greatest care was taken to preserve its purity; it was fed with wood 
stripped of its bark; no blast of air w^as suffered to touch it; it was never blown with 
bellows, and even the priests put cloths over their mouths before going to it. 

The Fyroithra, or.fire-towers, the only Medo-Persian temples, are found along the 
mountain heights of Armenia and several other places. The temple near the capital is 
said by Ea'stern authors to have been founded by Cyrus, and in Greek history the 
stories of the strange events of the childhood of the great king, are laid in the ancient 


202 


Cities of the Aneient World. 

city. Others tell us that he came here after his Lydian campaign, and deposited the 
captured spoils of Croesus in the seven-walled citadel. Herodotus says that the luxu¬ 
rious habits afterward practiced by the Persians were unknown in the time of Cyrus, 
and proves it by quoting the advice of a wise Lydian to his king, Croesus, when that 
monarch was planning his ill-fated expedition against Cyrus; “ Thou art about, O 
King,” said the Lydian, “ to make war against men who wear leathern trousers, and 
have all their other garments of leather; who feed not upon what they like, but upon 
what they can get from a soil that is sterile and unkindly; who do not indulge in wine, 
but drink water; who possess no figs, nor anything else that is good to eat: If, then, 
thou conquerest them, what canst thou get from them, seeing that they have nothing at 
all ? ” Herodotus declares that this was quite true, “ for before the conquest of Lydia, 
the Persians possessed none of the luxuries or delights of life.’ 

Next to the two Eebatanas, the most important city of the Medo-Persian em¬ 
pire was Raga, or Rhages, near the eastern boundary of Media, near the cele¬ 
brated pass called the Caspian Gates. It was very early established, and for a 
long time was a very important place, being the largest city of Rhagiana, a strip 
of fertile territory between Mount Elburz and the Desert. It was guarded by mas¬ 
sive walls, and embellished with wonderful pieces of sculpture, that tell about 
some of the manners and customs of the people who lived here. On the side of one 
rock, a smooth surface had been made about sixteen feet in height and twelve in 
breadth, a colossal bas-relief stands out from a smooth surface about sixteen feet high 
and twelve broad. The picture represents a horseman, wearing the balloon-shaped head¬ 
dress always worn by the early sovereigns of this country, in full charge, couching his 
spear. Long drapery flows behind him, and opposite him is the head of another horse, 
probably a charger, bearing some enemy of the royal hero. Other sculptures show the 
ancient styles of dress, armor, etc. Waving sash-like strips of cloth are found attached 
to different parts of the dress of the kings, who wear their beards usually long on the chin, 
and their hair in full and flowing curls. Sometimes the long beard is represented as 
tied together at the point of the chin, and hanging down like a great tassel. The dia¬ 
dem is surrounded by fluted ornaments rising upward, while from the middle of the 
crown rises a balloon-like mass. The figure of a woman wearing a mural crown is seen 
on one of the sculptures. Her long hair falls in braids over her shoulders. Her dress 
is fitted so as to show the form of her person, and long tight sleeves not only cover the 
arms, but part of the hands too. This figure is said to represent the wife of one of the 
early kings, about whom there is a very romantic story which will show the style of bal¬ 
lads and narratives that the Persians most admire. The story is that the king was very 
fond of the chase, and so proud of his skill-as an archer, that he wanted his wife to see 
some of his exploits. So she went to the hunt with him one day. Before long, the 
king saw an antelope lying asleep on the plain. He drew his bow, and just grazed the 


Bag{sta7i. 


205 


animal’s ear. The antelope seemed to feel a fly was annoying him, and lifted his hind 
foot to the spot to strike it away. At this moment the king shot again, and made such 
true aim that the dart pierced and fastened it to the creature’s horns, “ Was not that a 
shot?” cried the exultant monarch. “ O, practice makes perfect,” coolly replied the 
lady. At this the king grew full of rage. He ordered a slave to carry the queen from 
his sight; take her to the mountains and there let her perish ! And the servant led 
her to the Median hills, but instead of seeking a bleak and lonely spot, he took her to a 
small village on the mountain side. Here, in deep disguise, she took lodgings in a 
tower. Her little chamber was reached by twenty steps, and the first thing she did was 
to procure a young calf, which she carried upstairs and down every day, for four years, 
her strength increasing with the size and strength of the animal. One evening when 
the king happened to be stopping at this village, he was amazed to see a young woman 
carrying a large cow up a flight of steps. He sent to inquire how such extraordinary 
strength had been gained, and received answer that the young woman would entrust her 
secret to no one but the king himself. He went at once to the tower and most court¬ 
eously spoke of the lady’s marvelous strength. She bade him not to lavish praises 
upon her, “ for,” said she, “ practice makes perfect,” and lifting her veil, stood revealed 
before her royal husband. This was another amazement to the king; he had believed 
her to be dead, and long ago relented his harsh rashness. In a few days the inter¬ 
rupted journey was resumed, and the queen bore her husband company. But she 
returned many times to the little village, for a palace was built for her on the spot 
where the tower stood. From this time she shared in his glory as well as his pleasures, 
and her portrait was stamped with his on the coins of the empire. 

Strabo says that Rhages received its name from certain chasms made in the ground 
by earthquakes. It suffered much from war in ancient times, but was rebuilt again and 
again, and continued to be a place of much importance down to about 350 b.c., or the 
close of the Grecian dominion in Western Asia. It was so celebrated during the time 
of the Persian empire, that many writers gave it a very important place in their ro¬ 
mances, and described its people and scenes most fluently. It is frequently spoken of 
in the stories of Tobit and Judith in the Apocrypha. The great Median revolt that 
once shook the Empire had its final struggle, and when Darius fled from Ecbatana, he 
sent the ladies of his court and his heavy valuables to Rhages. 

Most of the other important Median cities lay in the western part of the country. 
First there was Bagistan, a city situated on the road between Southern Ecbatana and 
Babylon, a city situated on a hill, where there was a pillar and a statue of Semiramis. 
The famous Assyrian queen is said to have had a royal park or “ paradise ” on the ad¬ 
joining plain. The lovely fields and groves stretched for a long distance below the 
mountain, and were watered by an abundant spring; and the face of a precipice that abut¬ 
ted on the plain was smoothed, and then carved into a portrait of the wonderful queen. 


SYRIA. 


^T^HE greatest city of ancient Syria was Damascus. For nearly three thousand 
I years it has flourished, and although another bears the name, Damascus is the 
true “Eternal City’’ of the world. It is the most beautifully situated of any 
city in Syria, or perhaps in all Western Asia; it stands in a lovely plain a mile and a 
half from the base of Anti-Lebanon, and at a height of twenty-two hundred feet above 
the sea. The plain is about fifty miles in circumference, covered with rich vegetation 
and foliage; it is open to the desert of Arabia on the south and east, while on the other 
sides it is bounded by the mountains. The pale blue ridge on the right was known as 
“ The Hills of Bashan,” and the river below is Barada, the ancient Abana, which the 
Greeks called “ The Golden Stream.” It rises in Anti-Lebanon, flows eastward through 
the plain and the city, which it divides into two unequal parts. At different heights 
there are a number of dams built across the river, which turn a part of the waters into 
large canals. Some of these are tunneled through the rock along the sides of the ravine 
through which the mighty river flows; they branch out in many directions, carrying a 
generous supply of clear fresh water to the many fountains of Damascus, and on every 
side watering the plain, that is covered with rich groves and orchards of fig, walnut, 
pomegranate, citron, and apricot trees. Above all, the snowy peaks of Mount Hermon 
rose, then as now; and gleaming white under the brilliant Oriental sun lay the “oldest 
city in the world,” surrounded by fair fields and magnificent mountains. Its oval 
circuit was surrounded by a stout tower-guarded wall, entered by several gates; the 
main quarters were on the south side of the river. Where the Eastern Gate 'now is, 
there used to be a fine Roman portal, with high, noble arches, and massive sides of 
masonry and stone. Outside of it there was an extensive tile and pottery factory, 
where finely glazed and richly colored tiles and vessels were made. These were so 
cleverly fashioned and so beautifully finished that they were celebrated far and wide. 
About eighty paces from the gate, the south-eastern angle of the wall was marked with 
a tower, with a fleur-de-lis and two lions sculptured in relief over the entrance doorway. 
The fortifications were a double wall at one time, with an arched gate on the western 
side, corresponding to that on the east. The greatest length of the city was from east 
to west, across which ran the famous “Street called Straight.” It was a mile in length, 


Damascus. 


205 


broad and beautiful, divided by stately Corinthian columns into three noble avenues, 
and finished at each end with triple Roman gateways. The pavements were tesselated 
or laid in squares, like a checker-board. The ancient Damascenes excelled in this sort 
of work, as they did in many other mechanical arts. 

In many respects Damascus is the most remarkable city of the earth. It has out¬ 
lived generations of others, in an existence of four thousand years, during which it has 
formed an important part of the most powerful empires of the world. The monarchs of 
Nineveh, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome conquered it; but under every dynasty it 
prospered, and after all have fallen, it still lives. It is believed to have been founded 
by Uz, the great grandson of Noah; and this is probably how it happened: when Aram, 



HOUSES ON THE WALLS OF DAMASCUS. 


Uz’s father, took possession of Northern Syria he looked about for a place to set 
his capital, and soon discovered that in all the land this was the most splendid site for 
a city, with its wide plain, luxuriant vegetation, and abundant waters. We do not know 
about Uz’s plans in establishing Damascus, but it certainly was soon a flourishing city, 
and probably kept growing steadily for many years. Long after that time Abraham 
reigned there, and pilgrimages are now made to places near by that are associated with 
the great patriarch. In David’s time—eight centuries later—it was the capital of a 












206 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


powerful country, whose king ventured to make war on the victorious monarch of IsraeL 
Besides its own territory round about the city, which included the eastern slopes of Anti- 
Lebanon, it had other extensive possessions and tributary kingdoms in Mesopotamia 
and the lands east of Syria. The people took a good share in the warlike enterprises 
^ of those times, bringing home plunder of goods and prisoners. The land around the 
Jordan, which was held by the Hebrews, was often invaded, and at one time Naaman, 
the commander of the Damascene armies, brought back with his prisoners of war a little 
Jewish maiden. Her bright looks and agreeable ways so pleased the great general that 
he resolved to give her to his wife for a hand-maiden. Now, Naaman was afflicted with^ 
the dreadful disease called leprosy, which was common in the East. It was not in so 
bad a form that he could not attend to his duties, but he was often in dreadful suffering 
as he went about the streets of Damascus, waited upon his king Benhadad, or led his 
armies into battle. Sometimes he was kept in the house by unusually severe attacks of 
pain, which no one could relieve; for leprosy was believed to be an incurable disease. It 
began in a mild way, but finally grew so bad that the sufferer would have to leave home, 
friends, and all well people, and join others with the same trouble, and as patiently as 
possible wait till death came. The little Jewish girl knew all this, and it touched her 
tender heart to see her master suffer; so she told him of a man named Elisha, who was 
a Hebrew prophet in her own land of Samaria, and was able to do miracles. Naaman 
told the king, and Benhadad gave his general permission to leave Damascus and his 
duties there to find cure, if he could. He even gave Naaman a letter to his old enemy 
Joram, King of Samaria, saying that he sent his valued soldier to him to be made well 
of leprosy. Then Naaman set out with a splendid train of chariots, horses, and camels 
laden with very rich gifts of silver, gold and stuffs, according to the Oriental custom of 
those days. This procession wound over the hills and crossed the plains and the river 
Jordan, till it finally reached Samaria. The king did not understand, and would have 
made a good deal of trouble if Elisha had not heard of it all, and sent for Naaman. 
Then the general and his retainers moved on, and before long filled the street before 
the prophet’s house. The Scriptures tell the story, how that Naaman was told to dip 
himself seven times in the Jordan, and that after he had done this, he rose, clean and 
free from all signs of the disease. He was full of gratitude, and offered the prophet 
costly presents, which Elisha would not take. Then, it is said, the well man returned 
to Damascus with two mule-loads of earth with which he built an altar to the God of the 
Israelites, in whose name Elisha prophesied and wrought miracles. 

The Syrians did not worship the Jehovah of the Israelites, which is the same as the 
God of all Christian and Jewish worship in the world now; but a heathen deity, called 
Rimmon. A temple to him is believed to have stood where the Great Mosque of 
Damascus is now, and it was probably there that King Ahaz saw the beautiful altar, 
which he admired so much that he had a similar one made at Jerusalem. The cere- 



HEBREWS 


MODE OF TRAVELING 










































Damascus. 


209 


monies of these heathen religions were very imposing, the king and his court attending 
the sacrifices in great pomp. After Naaman’s return he probably kept up his usual 
duties, and walked with the king upon his arm at the head of a gorgeous procession that 
filled the temple, and taking part in the worship, or watched the priests performing their 
offices of worship and sacrifice; but to Naaman himself “ there was no God in all the 
earth, save in the land of Israel.” At about the close of Benhadad’s reign, the first 
epoch in the history of Damascus closed. Some of the rulers in Assyria and Judah 
marched against it, laying the country waste and capturing the city. It had held a high 
position as capital of an independent dynasty for three hundred years. This now 
became a tributary kingdom; but Damascus still kept its importance down to the time 
of the conquests of Ale.xander the Great; 
it was singularly fortunate in escaping 
the fate of destruction, which fell to 
almost all its sister cities. It was no 
longer capital after the division of the 
great conqueror’s empire, but it still 
flourished as of old, and in about a 
thousand years it again rose to its old 
position as the Syrian metropolis. This 
was after the Romans gained sway in the 
East, less than half a century before the 
beginning of the Christian Era. For a 
few of the following years the Arabian 
named Aretas held the grand old city, 
and it was during his reign that the 
Christian religion began to be pro¬ 
claimed in the city and province of Damascus, and that the great apostle Paul went 
there to preach the Gospel of Christ. 

There are no full accounts of the appearance of the city in early times, and very 
little is known of its history. In the course of thousands of years it passed under the 
rule of Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, and Romans; in later years it fell into the 
hands of the Saracens, from whom it was taken in 1516 by the Turks; and they have 
held it ever since, with the exception of a few years when it belonged to the Pasha of 
Egypt; but during all the changes it has been prosperous and flourishing, as it is now.* 
It w’as one of the great commercial and manufacturing places in the ancient world. 
Caravans going to or coming from the East, especially Persia, made it an important 
station, and the merchants were among the most wealthy and enterprising of their time. 



* See description of Damascus in “ Great Cities of the Modern World.” 


14 







210 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

Some of the manufactures of the city have an everlasting reputation. Linen cloths of 
beautiful patterns and fine quality were woven with great skill, and became so celebrated 
that the goods were known far and wide as damask^ and the same name is given to similar 
material now. But even more famous than this was the work of the goldsmiths, silver¬ 
smiths, and other metalists. They were marvelous workers in steel, and manufactured 
the finest sword-blades and daggers that have ever been known. The weapons are be¬ 
lieved to have been made of steel and iron, which were so welded together and tempered 
that they were very elastic, and at the same time rather hard, durable, and sharp; they 
were so flexible that the sword could be bent in any one’s hands to form a hoop, with 
the point touching the hilt, without hurting the blade in the least. The surfaces were 
covered with beautiful designs, like a fine net-work of dark lines on a light ground, or 
light lines upon a dark ground; sometimes the steel-blue ground was inlaid with delicate 
patterns in gold. This ornamentation was done by careful work with acids, and in the 
genuine Damascus swords (some are so-called, but not real), the designs run through 
the entire blade, and are not worn off by friction or even grinding. The Crusaders spread 
the fame of the Damascene steel through Europe, and imitations of it have been made 
ever since. This is done by etching with acids, and produces landscapes, inscriptions, 
and ornaments commonly upon the blue ground of ordinary steel. Gold and silver 
ornaments of every description, armor, weapons, pipes, perfumes, etc., were among the 
manufactures of the early days of Damascus. 

The city of Samaria, where the prophet Elisha lived when Naaman went to be 
healed of leprosy, was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. It stood in the center of 
a wide basin-shaped valley, encircled with high hills and almost on the edge of a great 
plain which borders upon the Mediterranean. If Naaman could have taken a direct 
route to it, he would have gone due south-east, and crossed the Sea of Galilee, when he 
had gone just about half way. Even this would have made a long journey, for Samaria 
was a great distance below Damascus, and far away beyond Jordan, toward the sea. It 
was beautifully situated on a hill which commanded a view of the surrounding country. 
It was probably from this fine position that the name of the city, which means “ watch- 
mountain,” came. Samaria was made the capital of Israel by King Omri, about 925 b.c., 
and for about two centuries it successfully resisted the storms and sieges of other kings 
of neighboring territories. Then it was overcome by the Assyrian monarch, who also 
took all the other cities of Israel, or Samaria, as the country round about was also 
called. With this conquest the people, or the “ Ten Tribes of Israel,” of which the 
Scriptures speak, were carried off. Their places were filled by colonies from Babylon, 
who were the people known in history as the Samaritans, with whom “ the Jews had no 
dealings.” 

The fair city had a checkered history. There was a deep hatred between the Israel¬ 
ites and the Assyrians, which sometimes grew very bitter, and again was partially healed 


Gaza. 


2 I T 


over. When Alexander the Great took this—as he took all places in the East—he drove 
out the Assyrians and peopled Samaria with a colony from part of his Macedonian king¬ 
dom. Near the close of the second century b.c., it was captured by another general, 
and completely destroyed. Then it was soon rebuilt, and for fifty years was a home of 
the Jews, who were routed by Pompey, for the sake of the descendants of the Samaritans 
Alexander had made homeless. Augustus, when he became the emperor of Rome, gave 
the new city as a present to Herod, who called it Sebasfe, and many vast improvements, 
so that it became quite famous for its splendor and importance. When the Mohamme¬ 
dans conquered Palestine, Samaritan prosperity perished, and there are scarcely any 
traces of the ancient capital in the little Arab village now occupying a small part of its 
site. 



ANCIENT -AQUEDUCT. 


Another Syrian city, which seems to have been always undergoing wars and sieges, 
was Gaza. It stood about three miles from the sea, on the eastern edge of the desert 
between Palestine and Egypt. It was at first one of the strongholds of the Philistines, 
and in their time it was able to resist all enemies. These were a very ancient nation, who 
were so well known for their war-like nature that when Moses took the children of Israel 
out of Africa into Canaan, he preferred the long route described in the Scriptures to the 
shorter way through the land of the Philistines. They were able to cope with the 
Sidonians on one hand, and the Egyptians on the other; and for many centuries the 
conquerors of both East and West kept aloof from them. The Israelites were tributary 
to them, and groaned deeply under their oppression, as we read in the Scripture story of 



212 Cities of the Ancient World. 

Samson. They were cunning or crafty, too; for when they found the great Israelitish 
general’s strength more than a match for them, they set to work to discover the secret 
of it from his wife, who had been a Philistine. She treacherously revealed that his 
strength seemed to come from his long thick hair, and not only did this but took some 
of them to him when he was asleep, and they cut off his locks. Then when he woke, 
they laid hands on him, put out his eyes, to be doubly sure, and took him down to Gaza. 
There he was imprisoned and, after a while, put to grinding at the mill. The women, 
the lowest slaves, and prisoners taken in war were set at this menial task. Upon a 
piece of sack-cloth spread on the ground before the door of the house, the “ mill ” was 
placed. The upper stone of the mill was turned round upon the “ nether mill-stone,” 
by means of a handle. Two women facing each other ground, somewhat after the 
fashion in which the cross-cut saw is worked, one throwing in grain as that in the mill 
was used. Morning and evening the hum of the hand-mill might have been heard, and 
sometimes far into the night. It was hard, tiresome work, and the fact that it was im¬ 
posed upon women, shows the little estimation in which they were held. This old-time 
custom still prevails, and in the streets of the modern town—known as Shuzzeh—the 
hum of the mill may be heard just as in the ancient days. The temple of Dagon, where 
the Philistines were assembled, and where they called Samson to perform some feats of 
strength for their amusement, probably stood on the hill-side, according to the Eastern 
custom; and the resentful giant knew that if the central columns were once loosened the 
whole building would pitch down the hill at once. He felt his strength returning to 
something like that of former times, when he had torn away the doors of the city gates, 
and carried them on his shoulders to the top of a hill that is before Hebron; and when 
his enemies called forth their prisoner to give them sport, he felt that a time for venge¬ 
ance had come. The temple must have been very large, for three thousand men and 
women were assembled upon the flat roof, and looked on while Samson amused his 
enemies. At last he begged to be led to a pillar that he might lean against it, and then 
he drew the two middle columns together, pulling down the vast temple, and perishing 
himself with three thousand of his enemies. 

In the last centuries before the Christian Era there were three cities on the north, 
the south, and the east of the Great Sea, that rivaled each other in splendor and culture. 
Of these Rome stood first, but it was not in any respect far ahead of the others—Alex¬ 
andria in Egypt, and Antioch, by the waters of Orontes, in Syria. This lay on the left 
bank of the river, twenty miles from the sea, in the midst of a long plain, so rich and 
fertile that it was like a cultivated garden hemmed in by mountain ranges. Upon the 
division of Alexander’s empire, part of Syria fell to the share of Seleucus. He wished 
to extend his influence both east and west, so he resolved to have a capital in the 
northern part of Syria. After looking about for a favorable spot, he selected this site, 
and here founded “Antioch the beautiful,” whose fame for splendor and wealth very 


A ntioch. 


213 

soon entirely overshadowed the old capital. Part of the city stood upon an island, which 
is gone entirely now, and part of it was built on the plain, while the remainder stretched 
southward over the rugged rising ground toward Mount Casius. Its stately handsome 
quarters were threaded by the branches of a shining stream, whose banks were planted 
with brilliant fruit trees, and skirted on all sides by mountain slopes covered with vine¬ 
yards. It was one of sixteen cities founded by Prince Seleucus Nicator—one of the 



ANTIOCH. 


kings under the Emperor Alexander the Great—and named after his father, Antiochus; 
but it soon became more wealthy, more beautiful, and much more celebrated than all 
its namesakes. The story of its foundation is, that in May, b.c. 301, Seleucus made a 
sacrifice to the gods on the hill Silpius; afterward he repeated the ceremony, and while 
he was watching the auguries he saw an eagle carrying the flesh of the sacrifice to the 
foot of the hill Silpius. By this Seleucus understood that the gods pointed out to him 








214 


Cities of the Ancient J\^orld. 

the site for a great city, which he began at once to build. He placed the citadel upon 
Mount Silpius, and built the city on the sloping ground that stretched between the hill 
and the river. It became the capital of Syria, and so many people flocked to it that 
before long the original town had to be enlarged. Then new quarters, each surrounded 
by a wall, were afterward added by other kings, so that Antioch became a tetrapolis, or 
city of four parts, which at the beginning of the Roman empire was as large as Paris 
is now. 

The quarter on the island was connected with the others by five bridges, and in 
about 150 B.c. the whole city was encircled by fortifications. It was necessary for this 
frontier capital to be very stout. The walls were also very skillfully built, and no point 
was unprotected, even the crossing of a wild ravine. The level of the adjoining parts 
was kept by the parapets on the top, while the solid blockade went down to the great 
depths beneath. The top of the wall seems to have been constructed in the form of a 
flight of steps. Large towers of defense rose seventy or eighty paces apart, and on the 
hills these were from seventy to eighty feet in height, those in the plain from twenty-five 
to thirty feet. There are said to have been three hundred and sixty towers. They 
were about thirty feet square, and projected on each side of the wall, which was about 
eight feet in width. Low doors opened from the towers upon the parapet, which made 
the entire fortification like a chain of castles with a means of passage extending all 
around the city. Where the wall crosses the Aleppo Road w'as the entrance called Paul’s 
Gate, which still stands; but the most important portal of the ancient city was the 
“ iron gate.” This was between steep hills, and was not only used for defensive 
purposes, but also contained a sluice by which the height of the water stored in the 
vailey could be regulated. Not far from this gate was the rock-cavern, forming the 
ancient Church of St. John. The center of Antioch was laid out in a great public 
square, or covered colonnade, with four gates. From these stately streets lined with 
columns led in four directions to the outskirts of the city. Everywhere stood fine build¬ 
ings; in all parts were streets and porticoes filled with such magnificent columns that 
they were called golden avenues. The principal street was about four miles long, 
crossing the city from east to west, with a broad road in the middle, and a narrower 
covered way or portico on each side, which were flanked by columns that stood in four 
parallel rows for the entire distance. From it others branched off, up to the higher 
parts of the city or down toward the river, and at every corner the porticoes of the main 
street were carried over to form an arch. A lofty monument with a statue of Apollo 
stood about midway along the avenue, where it was crossed at right angles by another, 
and a similar street that reached from the hill-side gardens on one side of the city to the 
Hympjeum on the other side, on the bank of the river. All the public buildings were 
magnificent. There were the palace, the Senate House, the temple of Jupiter, burnished 
with gold, the theater for plays, amphitheaters for'gladiator shows, and a great number 


A ntiocJi. 


215 


of public baths, all of which were almost, if not quite, as stately, gorgeous, and luxurious 
as those of Rome, after which they were copied. 

In the year 64 b.c., when Syria was reduced to a Roman province, Pompey gave to 
Antioch the power of self-government. New temples, theaters, baths, and aqueducts 
were then built, and more important than all, a basilica, or Court of Justice, which was 
called the Ctesarium. In the suburbs of this brilliant city, which the ancients sometimes 
called the “ Crown of the East,” Seleucus founded the Grove of Daphne, which was 



SVRIAN SE.APORT. 


celebrated far and wide. It was intended both for worship and pleasure; it was fully 
ten miles in circumference, deeply bosomed in a thick grove of laurels and cypresses, 
and formed in the most sultry summers a cool shade through which the sun-heat never 
pierced. Many streams of purest water flowed from out the hills, which were crowned 
by temples, baths, and gymnasia. The Antiochians were a restless and pleasure-loving 
people. They were partly Greeks, and when the ancient rites of Greece were established. 










2 lU 


Cities of the Ancie7it JVorld. 


the whole population easily took them up. A stadium was built, and when the Olympic 
games were celebrated the youths of the Syrian capital became athletes, throwing the 
quoits, wrestling and racing, and exercising daily in the gymnasium. A magnificent 
temple to Apollo was built, embowered in a grove of laurels and cypresses. The sump¬ 
tuous sanctuary, enriched with gold and gems, and adorned by the most skillful of 
Grecian artists, was nearly filled by the colossal figure of the God of Light. The deity 
was represented as bending forward, apparently entreating the venerable mother to give to 
his embrace the beauteous but unwilling Daphne. Besides the temple of Apollo, Daphne 
contained temples to Diana, Venus, Isis, and other deities, all fitted up with great mag¬ 
nificence, as were also the baths, theaters, and other public buildings, where from time 
to time were held the revels of Daphne, which were not abolished until Christianity was 
established. It was at Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians, 
and there that Paul labored for some time, and then set out on his first missionary journey. 
It was also for many years the center and headquarters of missions to the heathen world. 
In the time of Chrysostom one-half of the two hundred thousand people dwelling here 
were Christians. 

After the founding of Constantinople Antioch was no longer chief city of the East, 
but it flourished with a new dignity as the seat of the Christian religion. Churches of a 
new and handsome architecture rose among the beautiful old public buildings, and even 
Constantine divided his attentions from his new capital to adorn the grand old city 
and strengthen its harbor, which was called Seleuceia. Among the population there were, 
especially in early times, a great many Jews; the people were rich, carrying on the chief 
trade of their vicinity, and attracting wealthy and cultivated people from all countries, 
but chiefly from Greece and Rome. Many men, distinguished for learning and their 
skill in art, lived here. But they were not a noble class of people altogether, being too 
fond of pleasures and luxuries, and not very pure-minded or refined. They were famous, 
above the folks of any other place, for biting and sarcastic wit, and for their ingenuity 
in making up nick-names; but this kind of smartness was just as dangerous then as it is 
now, and when the Antiochians “ made fun ” of the Persians, who invaded Syria under 
Chosroes in about 500 a.d., they did it to their own destruction, for the angered troops 
not only took the city but thoroughly demolished it. Justinian rebuilt it, but the place 
has had no real importance for ten or more centuries; it has always been subject to very 
severe earthquakes. 

Palmyra, the city of palms, the “ Tadmor in the Wilderness” of Scripture, was 
one of the proudest and mightiest capitals of Western Asia. I t was founded by Solomon, 
and lay along the base of a white limestone ridge which runs from south-west to north¬ 
east, about midway between the Euphrates and Syria, at the end of his dominions. It 
stood in a beautiful oasis in the midst of the great Syrian Desert, half-way between 
Damascus and Thapsacus, where his kingdom reached the Euphrates, and where there 



Palmyra. 2 i 7 

was the great passage across the stream, afterward called the “ fatal ford.” This city 
linked his dominions with the great highways of commerce to the north and north-east, 
and was at the same time a fine frontier station for the vast empire which he had over¬ 
come. But the history of Solomon’s city of Tadmor is almost lost in that of Palmyra, 
by which name it was called when in later times it was capital of the empire of Zenobia. 


THE GREAT COLONNADE, PALMYRA. 

The fertile oasis, well watered and abounding in tall graceful palm trees, was overlooked 
by barren and naked mountains on the west, and skirted by desert wastes of sand on 
the east and south; and in its midst rose the towered walls and handsome palaces of the 
city, a bulwark against the wandering Bedouin hordes, and a center of traffic between 
the East and West. It reached great importance finally, and became a most wealthy. 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


?i8 

flourishing, and important city under the Roman Empire of Trajan. But the greatest 
glory of the city was about a century after that time, when Odenathus, a Syrian, founded 
an empire there. He was murdered before long, but his wife, Zenobia, became monarch, 
and so strengthened the power of the domain that it included both the countries of 
Syria and Mesopotamia. For a short time Palmyra carried on an immense trade with 
Asia and Europe, and there were few places in all the world more rich and important 
or more beautifully built up with marble halls and palaces and imposing edifices of 
many different kinds, the most celebrated of which was the Temple of the Sun. A 
square court, about seven hundred and fifty feet on each side, was surrounded by a 
wall seventy feet in height. Within, a double colonnade parallel to the walls, formed 
cloisters similar to those of Herod’s restored Temple at Jerusalem. Near the center, 
enclosed by Corinthian columns sixty-four feet high, was the shrine, or Temple proper. 
These columns supported an unbroken entablature, richly ornamented with festoons of 
fruit and flowers, held up at intervals by winged figures. The Great Colonnade ran 
nearly across the city, in four rows of columns, each having on its inner side a bracket 
or a statue. This colonnade contained above fifteen hundred columns, and ended in a 
magnificent triumphal arch, profusely'decorated. 

There were a great many large and beautiful fountains, which kept the air of the 
desert cool and delightful throughout all the city. Among the most fantastic of these 
fountains was one in the court of a palace. It was in the form of an enormous elephant 
of stone, throwing from his uplifted trunk a shower of cold, clear water, which was. 
sometimes exquisitely perfumed. Rocks, rudely piled together to resemble some natural 
cascade, received the falling showers, which were then conducted by underground 
channels to lower parts of the grounds. In apartments opening upon the court there 
were luxurious couches, where idle people of the house reclined within sound of the 
murmur of falling waters, fanned by slaves or waited upon with drinks cooled by snow 
brought from the mountains of India, and the rare and delicious confections which only 
the art of the East seems able to supply. 

Religious inscriptions show that the Palmyrenes worshiped a kind of Trinity. The 
first person they called Baal-Samim, “the god of the heavens; the second Malak-baly 
who represented the sun; the third, Agli-bat, the moon. 

Zenobia’s husband was a colleague, or a sort of partner, with Gallicnus in the Roman 
Empire; but when Aurelian became ruler, he marched against Zenobia with a large 
army, and after defeating her in several battles, besieged her in Palmyra. She tried to 
escape, but was captured and taken to Rome to grace the emperor’s triumph. She was 
the most important sight in that great procession, not only because she was the queen 
of so celebrated a city and so great an empire, but also because she was very beautiful, 
and most gorgeously decked with splendid jewels. It is said that as she was led along 
the Via Flaminia she almost fainted from the weight of the gold chains upon her. 


Palmyra. 


219 


The people of Palmyra rebelled against the Roman garrison, after their queen was taken 
away, and to punish them Aurelian destroyed the city. It was rebuilt by Justinian, 
about three centuries after; but was pillaged by the Saracens, so that now there is 
only a small village amidst a field of ruins and tombs surrounded by sepulchres in the 



TEMPLE AT BAALBEC. 


mountain-sides, to mark its site. But these are among the most important monuments-, 
of ancient Syria; some are plain, and others very elaborate, many were built in the 
form of towers and filled with the bodies of the dead, and treasures of ornaments and 
statuettes. In one of them there were two statues, one of which was life size, with 
flowing robes and close jackets plaited and laced over the chest. One of these towers. 


















































220 


Cities of the Ancie 7 it World. 


is over thirty feet square at the base, and twenty-five feet square above the basement. 
It is one hundred and eleven feet in height, and comprises six stories, reached by stone 
stairs. Underground is an immense vault, filled with bones of wild animals and men 
and fragments of m.ummy linen. Running down the center of the building, opposite 
the entrance, is a long hall with a beautiful paneled stone ceiling. On either side of the 
hall are four recesses, about the length and breadth of a large coffin. Shelves were 
placed in these recesses, leaving room for dead bodies to be run in between them. The 
upper stories were like the first, except that they were not so highly ornamented and 
contained more recesses in the sides, some of them as many as eight. In this one tower 
were places for as many as four hundred and eighty bodies. In some of the tombs the 
recesses contain busts in relief, each having a short Palmyrene inscription, telling the 
name and parentage of the person whose portrait is given. It seems to have been the 
custom to embalm the body, place it in one of the loculi, or panels in the recess, and 
seal up the opening. 

The ancient and mysterious city of Baal bee lay at the northern end of a low range 
of bleak hills about one mile from the base of Anti-Lebanon, and about forty miles 
north-west of Damascus. It was irregular in form, and surrounded by walls two miles 
in circumference, and skirted by a well-watered and delightful plain. It was once a 
most magnificent city, full of palaces, fountains, and beautiful monuments. Toward 
the building of these all Syria gave wealth and labor, for it was the chief seat of the 
deity Baal, the great sun-god of many ancient nations. He represented to the people 
of Western Asia about the same idea of the sun being lord or master of the universe, as 
the Bel or Belus of Assyria, Moloch of the Phoenicians, and the supreme deities of many 
other countries. The name of Baalbec meant the city of Baal, or the Sun, and so when the 
Greeks came into possession of it, after the conquests of Alexander, it was called 
Heliopolis, which had the same meaning in the Greek language. 

The oldest records of this city are upon coins that were made in the days of the 
Roman power in the East. Neither the Bible nor any other of the very early histories 
speak of this city, and yet it certainly existed in those times, as miles of magnificent 
ruins now show. Being a religious capital, the chief buildings were probably temples, 
and most of the people were priests of Baal. But there were palaces and dwellings for 
-all classes of devotees, who must have gone in great numbers, with much pomp and 
magnificence, to worship and make the great and costly sacrifices which they believed 
the god demanded. There were three chief temples, known as the Great Temple, the 
Temple of the Sun, and the Circular Temple. The Great Temple consists of a peristyle, 
courts, and portico, standing on an artificial platform. This was nearly thirty feet in 
height, and had long vaults underneath. The Great Court through which it was ap¬ 
proached measured four hundred feet one way and four hundred and fifty the other, 
making a vast enclosure that was wonderfully rich in decorations, with chambers, 


Baalbec. 


221 


recesses, columns and friezes. The interior of each recess was ornamented with shell- 
topped niches, and over the recesses beautiful garlands of fruit and flowers were sculp¬ 
tured. At the western end of th^court, on a still higher platform reached by a flight 
of steps, stood the Great Temple, with its stately Corinthian columns and wonderful 
sculptures and statuary. Egg and dice ornaments fill the deep mouldings, and lovely 
garlands hung below the roof. The effect is wonderfully rich and beautiful, from the 
profusion of sculpture and fret-work. The colossal walls on the north and west sides 
of the platform which supports the Great 
Temple are perhaps the greatest won¬ 
ders of Baalbec. In this wall are three 
enormous stones, that you may have 
heard of, for they are very famous be¬ 
cause they are so large—one being over 
sixty feet long, thirteen feet high, and 
of about the same thickness—and be¬ 
cause they are twenty feet above the 
ground. This show^s that there must 
have been some marvelous lifting pow'er 
in those days. From these stones the 
Great Temple was long called “the 
Three-stoned.” 

The Temple of the Sun is the most 
perfect and most imposing monument 
of ancient art in Syria. It stands on a 
platform somewhat lower than that of 
the Great Temple. It is larger than 
the Parthenon. The style is Corinthian, 
and the character of the decorations 
show that it was built about the same ’ a fallen pillar. 

time as the Great Temple. Elaborate 

and delicate sculptures, representing fruit, flowers, vine-leaves, little figures with bunches 
of grapes in their hands, and cupids wound about with acanthus leaves, decorate the 
interior of this wonderfully beautiful house, in which the Syrians placed their shrines, 
their treasures, and statues dedicated to all the gods of the city. It is said that the 
Great Temple contained a golden statue of Jupiter, which was carried in procession 
through the streets of the city on festival days. The Circular Temple was smaller, and 
stood alone about two hundred yards to the south-east of the others. It was not as 
grand and pretentious as the first two, but was small, complete, and beautiful, according 
to the custom of temples dedicated to the worship of Venus, for whom it was probably 










2 2 2 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


built by the Greeks. Beneath the temples there are underground corridors, where 
Roman soldiers once sought refuge from the fierce heat of a Syrian sun. The numbers 
of the legions or companies are still seen on the walls. On a hill-side in this ancient 
city there used to stand a tall Doric column, probably surmounted by a statue, over a 
burial-cave. Several sarcophagi were found in the cave, and on the lid of one there 
were some sculptures. On the hill-side above this column, and near it, are many rock-- 
tombs. 

At the quarry, a short distance from the city, there lies a stone, seventy-one feet in 
length by fourteen in depth, and thirteen in width, weighing probably fifteen hundred 
tons, which is more than si.x times the weight of Cleopatra’s Needle. It has lain here 
for hundreds of years, already shaped for some building, but never used. 

Omthe route between Syria and Eastern Asia, mid-way between Antioch and Hierap- 
olis on the Euphrates, lies Aleppo, which was known in ancient times as Beroea. This 
name was probably given to it by Seleucus Mlcator, who founded Antioch, and it was 
kept until the time of the Saracens. It stood on a little stream called Nalv-el-Haleb. 
Tradition says that the patriarch Abraham, after milking his cows used to distribute the 
milk to the poor people, who gathered at the foot of the hill, and when he was ready 
cried out, “Haleb, Haleb,”—“he has milked.” The Arabs say that Abraham, when 
on his way to Canaan, spent some time on the castle hill, and a stone trough is shown 
into which it is said his cattle used to be milked. The city, part of which is still stand¬ 
ing, was built upon several small hills and intervening valleys, and surrounded by a 
towered-wall. The situation is a strange one, on the borders of a desert, seventy miles 
from the sea, in the midst of an unfruitful country. “ Castle Hill ’’ rises in the middle 
of the town; it was surrounded by a massive wall, and a moat that was crossed by a 
bridge of seven arches. Double gates were set for the defense of the bridge, and the 
steep ascent leading to the top of the hill was dotted with houses for the garrison and 
bazaars or shops. Under the hill there was a subterranean chamber, with a roof 
upborne by four columns built into the walls. At one of the gates near the hill, there 
is a stone bearing part of an ancient inscription. When the modern Aleppines pass it 
they rub their fingers over the letters and then kiss them. There is a tradition that 
Zachariah, father of John the Baptist, lies buried where the Great Mosque is. The 
population of ancient Aleppo was probably about a hundred and fifty thousand, in its. 
most prosperous days; it is now a little less than half that number. But the city is even 
yet one of the handsomest and finest in the country. It is an important center for the 
inland trade of Asia, its citizens are celebrated in all parts of the East for their 
elegant manners. 

Jerusalem, called by the El-Kuds (“The Holy”), has stood for at least 

thirty centuries on the summit of a mountain ridge extending in length from the plain 
of Es’draelon to the desert of Beersheba, and in breadth from the plains of Sharon and 


Jeriisalevt. 


223 


Philistia to the valley of the Jordan. Bleak limestone crowns lie along the summit of 
this ridge, separated by ravines. In the midst of these rather desolate environs, two 
valleys open, one is the valley of Kidron, the other the valley of Hhmom. The ancient 
city stood on the ridge between them, which is itself divided into two parts by the 
Tyropoean, or cheese-makers’ valley. The one on the west, considerably the larger and 
loftier, is the Zion of Scripture, while that on the east is Moriah. Still loftier crowns 



BETHLEHEM FROM THE SHEPHERDS* FIELDS. 


rise all around the site, with openings here and there through which are glimpses of the 
distant country. The ancient city, called the “ City of David,” also by Josephus, “ the 
Upper City,” was built on Zion, and, surrounded by walls as well as by deep valleys, 
it occupied a position of great security. Moriah, the “ sacred hill,” was then connected 
by a bridge over the Tyropoean with Mount Zion; on the northern brow of which, on a 
crest of rock thirty cubits high, there rose three great towers—Hippicus, Phasaelus, and 


Cities of ike Ancient IVor Id. 




72 \ 


Mariamme. At a little distance was a place for games, called the Xystus, which the 
royal palace overlooked, and which was also connected with the great towers, while both 
Xystus and palace were connected by a bridge with the Temple. 

The most ancient name of Jerusalem was Salem, the Foundation, or the Vision of 
Peace. Afterward it was called Jebus, because it belonged.to the Jebusites, and the 
present name is thought to be the two names combined. The city consisted of four 
parts, built on four hills, Zion, Akra, Moriah, and Bezetha. Zion, upon which stood 
the “ Upper City,” was the first spot in Jerusalem occupied by buildings. An ancient 
citadel stood here; it was also the burial-place of David and fourteen kings who ruled 
after him. Akra is called the “ Lower City,” to distinguish it from Zion, “ the Upper 
City,” and this lay opposite to Mount Moriah, from which it was separated by a broad 
valley. That was the hill upon which Abraham built the altar to sacrifice his son Isaac, 
we are told by Josephus and many other old historians; it was also the site of the 
Temple. Bezetha, or New City, is a broad irregular ridge with steep sides. The cir¬ 
cumference of the ancient city was about four miles and a half, and the regular popula¬ 
tion was nearly seventy thousand; but during the yearly feasts there were multitudes 
thronging every part of the city, and encamping on the surrounding heights. Josephus 
says that at one time during the feast of the Passover, there were in and around Jerusa¬ 
lem two million, seven hundred thousand people. The fame of the city first rose in the 
time of David; for about seven years after the valiant young shepherd became king of 
Israel he resolved to remove the capital from the far away Hebron toward the center of 
the country. His choice fell upon Jerusalem, which was a fair and likely place for 
the seat of the great Hebrew empire. It was held by the nation of the Jebusites, but 
in those days, if a king wanted a place, he made war on those who possessed it, and 
took it if he could. So David attacked Jerusalem, and gained the lower city at once; 
but the fortress of the Jebusites was the citadel. Tliey felt so sure that this could not 
be taken, that they are said to have manned the battlements with lame and blind men. 
This was an insult, which David felt bitterly. “ That man,” he cried, “ who first scales 
the rocky side of yonder fortress, and kills a Jebusite, shall be chief captain of the host 
of Israel!” Many warriors rushed forward, "but Joab distanced them all, and gained 
the prize. The others pressed after him, and so the citadel of Zion fell into the hands 
of the Great King, and Jerusalem became the capital of Israel in 1048 b.c. Great 
works were begun here, then, in laying out the city in fortifications and buildings. For 
thirty-three years the celebrated king ruled in this lofty city, and kept continually at 
work to carry out the two great tasks of his life, which were to establish the worship of 
Jehovah in the stronghold of Israel, and to extend the domains of that kingdom from 
the Red Sea to the Euphrates. 

He was a mighty conqueror, and compelled one tribe after another to yield to his 
armies, and he also spread great prosperity in Judah and the new kingdom of Israel, by 


Jerusalem. 


225 


encouraging navigation and trade, by carefully arranging the form of government, and by 
founding a higher and a lower court of justice. David is well known as the author of 
the Psalms, which are beautiful Oriental poems. They are all religious verses, and show 
every shade of spiritual feeling, from faith and joy in God’s goodness to overwhelming 
sorrow for the writer’s own sin. David was born in the little village of Bethlehem, and 
belonged to the same family into later generations of which Christ came, about ten centu¬ 
ries later. The village is still in existence, about five miles south of Jerusalem, in the 



MOUNTAINS OF MOAB, OPPOSITE THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH, ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF 

THE DEAD SEA. 


midst of a country of great interest to all who are familiar with the Bible. Away to the 
east are the plains of Jordan, with the mountains of Moab beyond the Dead Sea, and 
on all sides are mountains, plains, and valleys, where the people of God passed the early 
centuries of their eventful and often troublous existence. Zion was chosen for the site 
of the Tabernacle, or tent-temple, and to that hill the Ark of the Covenant was taken 
from Gibeah. This was the citadel of Kirjath-jearim, or city of forests,” on the road 

15 


















226 


Cities of the Ancient JCortot. 

between Jerusalem and the city of Lydda, nearer the Mediterranean coast. Many of 
the psalms of David were made in reference to the removal of the ark and to its being 
safely established in the city. The king’s palace of cedar-wood was upon Zion’s Hill, 
and opposite, upon Moriah, he began to build the great temple, which was finished by 
his son Solomon. This was the most important, the most splendid, and the most famous 
building in the great city. The plans and nearly all the preparations for the materials 
were made by David; he had secured aid from many sources, especially from Hiram, 
King of Tyre, who willingly gave great assistance to his old friend’s son Solomon, when 
he began to carry out his father’s design in the great work. All the arrangements were 
so complete that no sound of axe or hammer was heard about the temple during the 
whole seven years of its building, 

“ Like some tall palm, the noiseless fabric grew.” 

The general plan of this most celebrated sanctuary was after the Tabernacle, but in 
all points twice the size. Outer walls formed a vast square of about six hundred feet, 
in the center of which was the comparatively small structure of the temple, gleaming 
with a profusion of gold ornamentation. It was of oblong shape, and had three parts; 
a deep porch extending across the front, and supported by two great brass pillars, called 
Jachin and Boaz, adorned with lily-work and pomegranates. This led to the Holy 
Place, or outer hall, which was about twice as large as the Porch. Here there was the 
Altar of Incense, made of cedar overlaid with gold, and beside it were seven golden 
candle-sticks, and ten golden tables of shew-bread, and a great number of golden vessels 
used in the religious services. In the center of the place there was a square hall, con¬ 
taining the sacred Ark, and called the Holy of Holies. The walls and curtains shut it 
off from the view of any persons in the Holy Place. The whole interior of the temple 
was lined with wood-work richly carved and overlaid with gold. Wq are told that the 
dedication of this great sanctuary was the grandest ceremony that ever took place among 
the Israelitish people. The time chosen was the Feast of Tabernacles, the most joyous 
festival of the Jews. After the labors of the field, and the gathering in of the vintage, 
the people went to Jerusalem from all parts of the wide territories of Solomon. The 

king himself, as a priest, was in his linen ephod, the royal robes being laid aside; and a 

full body of the holy men brought the ark in a grand procession from the tabernacle 
on Zion to the rest prepared for it beneath the spreading wings of two cherubim in the 

Holy of Holies. No alterations were made in the ark; this was the same as it had 

always been, and contained only the two tables of the law which Moses had placed in it 
at Sinai. When it was set down the chorus of the Levites, with all instruments of music, 
and clad in white linen robes, burst forth in praise of Jehovah: “ For He is good; for 
His mercy endureth forever.” Prayers and burnt-offerings of thousands of oxen and 
sheep were made, and the psalms of David were sung to an accompaniment of many 


Jerusaleni. 


227 



instruments of music. A great feast was held that lasted for two weeks—seven days 
for the regular Feast of the Tabernacles, and seven for the dedication of the temple. 
Then Solomon dismissed the multitudes, and they returned to their homes “glad and 
merry in heart for all the goodness that Jehovah had showed unto David, and to Solomon, 
and to Israel, His people.” 

This temple stood for four hundred and 
twenty-three years, when it was destroyed 
by Nebuchadnezzar; but after the conquest 
of Persia Cyrus ordered that it be rebuilt, 
and the fifty-four hundred vessels which 
Nebuchadnezzar had taken away be restored. 

The Second Temple, begun b.c. 534, was 
dedicated ninteen years later. It was situated 
on a rocky hill of Moriah, which was sur¬ 
rounded from the base with a triple wall, and 
had a noble colonnade crowning the embank¬ 
ment on one side. The sustaining walls of 
the outer courts were built up from a depth 
of about five hundred feet. The colon¬ 
nades, double throughout, were supported by 
pillars about forty feet high, each a single 
stone of pure white marble. The ceilings 
were of paneled cedar, and the open court 
was covered with pavement laid in squares. 

Between the outer and inner courts rose a 
stone balustrade, five feet high, of exquisite 
workmanship. Within the balustrade was 
an ascent by fourteen steps to a terrace en¬ 
circling the wall of the inner court, and from 
this terrace, five steps more led to the 
inner court, which was surrounded by a wall 
over sixty feet high on the outside, but only about forty inside. Within this inner 
court was the most sacred enclosure, containing the Temple itself, which none but the 
priests might enter. To this enclosure there was an ascent from the inner court of 
twelve steps. This Temple proper was rebuilt by Herod, who also erected some mag¬ 
nificent cloisters encircling the outer court. In the southern side of the outer court 
were double gates, and on its western side were four gates, one of which connected the 
Temple with the royal palace. There was no gate on the east or north side. It is said 
that Herod enlarged the area of the temple to twice its former extent. 


THE MOABITE STONE. 






228 


Cities of the Aneient World. 

The cloisters of the Temple were very remarkable. Along the southern side of the 
outer court ran the cloister of Herod—the Stoa Basilica, or Public Porch. This con¬ 
sisted of four rows of Corinthian columns, forming nave and aisles. The aisles were 
thirty feet wide and fifty feet high. The nave was forty-five feet wide, and one hundred 
feet high. The columns were single shafts of white marble, and the roofs of cedar-wood 
were exquisitely carved. The nave was exactly opposite the bridge leading from Zion 
to the Temple, and corresponded to it in breadth. 

Solomon's Porch, where Jesus used to walk, ran along the eastern side of the Temple 
court. This porch, or stoa, was a double range of cloisters between three rows of 
columns. It was of great height, and occupied a commanding position on tire eastern 
brow of Mount Moriah. There were also cloisters on the two remaining sides. The 
general plan of this noble and striking Temple resembled that of the Temple of the 
Sun at Palmyra, with cloisters somewhat like those at Baalbec. The sumptuous palace of 
King Solomon, beautifully planned and richly decorated, stood near the Temple. The 
greatest power as well as the greatest splendor of Jerusalem was reached during the 
reign of this monarch. His palace, which was not finished until four years after the 
completion of the temple, w'as by far the most magnificent residence that had ever been 
raised. It was built after the style of the Assyrian palaces, but w’ith much more 
splendor. It was built in the Acra, looking toward the south side of the temple, and 
for it the rarest of all materials and most skillful of workmen in the East, were brought 
together. The principal building situated within the palace was, as in all Eastern 
palaces, the great hall of state and audience, called The House of the Forest of Leba¬ 
non, probably from the rows of pillars supporting it. These were made out of the famous 
cedars of the distant mountains, which, far to the north of the Holy City, separated Syria 
from the narrow strip of Phoenician country along the Mediterranean shore. There 
was a long hall joined to the House of the Forest of Lebanon by a cedar porch, called 
the Tower of David. Outside of this there were hung a thousand golden shields, and 
within sat the king in all his imperial splendor. Opposite, there was another large 
column-supported hall called the Porch of Judgment. A great square altar stood in 
the center of the vast court, which was enclosed on all the other sides by the household 
apartments of the king, adjoining the spacious halls. Across one end was the Palace of 
Pharaoh’s Daughter, and opposite that, beyond the altar of the Great Court, there was 
a stately and beautiful Porch of Pillars, where the ordinary business of the palace was 
transacted, where the king received all usual visitors. Behind this were most of the 
private apartments of the palace, surrounding three open courts. In the center of the 
left-hand portion lay the Inner Court, adorned with gardens and fountains, and sur¬ 
rounded by cloisters for shade; corresponding to that on the right division, there were 
two smaller courts for the attendants and guards and the women of his household, whose 
apartments were grouped in suites around these paved and handsomely adorned open- 


Jei'iisalem. 


229 


ings. Solomon built an inclined road in an underground passage, leading from his 
palace up to the platform of the temple. About the whole of the first half of his reign 
was occupied in these and other works toward establishing the religion of Jehovah and 
his own royal, state in Jerusalem. The entire empire was in a state of peace; and year 



ONE OF THE CEDARS OF LEBANON. 


by year the king developed the resources of the country and pushed its commerce in 
every way possible to add to the treasure already gathered by his father. He was by 
far the greatest man of his time, not only in imperial power and wealth, but also in 
wisdom and learning. His judgment was so true, and his knowledge of right and wrong 
so clear that greater praise of judgment can scarcely be given than to say a person is as 











230 


Cities of the Aiicient World. 

wise as Solomon. He was also the most learned man, and the most talented poet of 
his time. His works on science have been lost; but the Canticles, or Song of Songs, 
the Ecclesiastes and Proverbs in the Bible are l)elieved to have been his; and there is 
scarcely anything finer or more beautiful in all the ancient Oriental writings.. Beside 
the descriptions of him in the Bible, there are many Eastern legends, which relate glow¬ 
ing stories of him. These spell his name Suleiman, and describe him as the lord and 
master of everything under the sun, the most wealthy of all created men, whose wisdom 
and power were as limitless as his riches. But his wonderful genius, his wisdom, power 
and wealth were shamefully over-shadowed in the latter part of his life by his own 
neglect of the wisdom he taught others. He now did the opposite of what had seemed 
right and good to him before; he became a selfish, arrogant tyrant, which turned the 
feelings of his people from love and trust into hatred and discontent. Upon his death 
a revolt broke out among the conquered kingdoms, which caused the downfall of the 
Jewish nation forever. 

The mountain summits, the hill-slopes, and the fair peaceful valleys about the Holy 
City are studded with tombs; the remains of Solomon, David, and other kings were 
laid near the spot on which they lived. There, too, the prophets were buried. Their 
tombs are reached through a long gallery leading downward to a circular chamber, about 
twenty-four feet in diameter and ten feet high. This may also be entered by a hole in 
the roof. From it run three high and narrow galleries, two of which are parallel, with 
long cross galleries, where there are the tombs of Zacharias, Absalom, St. James, Jehos- 
haphat, and many kings and great men who walked the streets and mingled with the 
multitudes of the celebrated ancient city 

The beauty and magnificence of Solomon’s court were never again equaled in Jerusa¬ 
lem after the king of Babylon—Nebuchadnezzar—“burned it with fire.” From that 
time it saw many changes. One conqueror took it from another, pillaging or rebuilding. 
The Eastern monarchs wrested it from each other; the Romans captured it; and in 66 
A.D., when the Jews revolted against the foreign conquerors, Titus obtained it again for 
Rome; but he did so by one of the most terrible sieges known in history. Hundreds 
of thousands of Jews are said to have perished, many killing themselves, when all hope 
was lost, by throwing themselves from the walls, or into the flames of the burning city. 
The beautiful Temple was destroyed, and all the houses and walls were thrown down. 
Under the emperor Hadrian it was rebuilt and named ^lia, after his family name yElias. 
But the religious emperor Constantine gave it the old name again, and the Holy City 
became a great place for Christian pilgrims to visit It is now sacred to the people of 
the Mohammedan religion also, and there are hundreds of men and women of both faiths 
who go to it every year. But they do not see any of the old-time grandeur, for modern 
Jerusalem is a city of narrow, crooked, dirty streets, with the ruins of centuries scattered 


Joppa. 231 

among its Jewish and Mohammedan buildings. The population is less than twenty-five 
thousand, or about one-fourth that of Albany, New York. 

The port of Jerusalem in the time of David was Joppa, which stood on the Mediter¬ 
ranean coast, about thirty miles north-west of the Holy City. It was also called Yafa 
or Jaffa, which means Beauty, and was probably given on account of the lovely picture 
made by the city and its surroundings of hills and sea. It stood on a low rounded hill, 
between the Mediterranean and the plain of Sharon. Luxuriant orchards of orange, 
lemon, date, and fig-trees stretched away on the land side like a “ sea of green adjoining 
that of blue. Pliny says it existed before the flood, and Strabo describes it as the place 
where Andromeda, the Ethiopian princess, was exposed to the sea-monster because her 
mother said she was more beautiful than the Nereids, or nymphs of the sea. In Pliny’s 



SOLOMON’S POOLS, OUTSIDE SOUTHERN W.-VLL OF JERUSALEM. 


days chains were shown in the rocks to which she was said to have been bound until 
Perseus killed the monster and rescued her. Josephus says that the city was founded 
by the Phoenicians, and ip the Bible it is first mentioned in the distribution of the land 
by Joshua as marking the border of the tribe of Dan. To this port was carried the 
timber from Lebanon, used in the building of both the first and second Temple. From 
this port Jonah set sail for Tarshish, when he was fleeing from the presence of the 
Lord. Pottery was manufactured here, and the potter and his wheel, with his heap of 
prepared clay and jar of water by his side, may be seen now as he was in the ancient 
Bible days. The potter, taking a lump of clay in his hand, placed it on top of the 



232 Cities of the Ancient World. 

revolving wheel and smoothed it into a cone something like the upper end of an old- 
fashioned sugar-loaf. Then, thrusting his thumb into its top, he opened a hole down the 
center, which constantly enlarged as he pressed upon it, giving it any shape he pleased. 
Now and then the growing jar, from some defect perhaps, or because the potter has 
taken too little clay, is suddenly crushed into a shapeless mass, and the work is begun 
anew. These vessels were extremely delicate,' and were broken frequently by merely 
putting them upon the floor. 

It was to Joppa that St. Peter came when he raised Tabitha from the dead, and there 
also he saw the vision which gave him a much better and broader idea of the aim of 
Christianity than he ever understood or thought of before. Scarcely any town has met 
with such disasters as Joppa, but it is of late years rising in prosperity, and the present 
population is about fifteen thousand. 

One of the most faithful and generous friends of David and Solomon, and of the 
Hebrew monarchy, was the Phoenician king Hiram. His court was at the city of Tyre, 
a long way north of Jerusalem, where the Eastern Mediterranean washed the shore of 
the land of Phoenicia. This was a part of what is now Syria, that lay along the coast 
north of Palestine. The name was given by the Greeks, and meant either a palm 
country or a red country. Tyre was the chief city of this country; it was powerful as 
early as 1200 b.c. During Solomon’s reign, two hundred years later, it had the largest 
commerce of any place on the Mediterranean, and also held the port of Elath on the 
Red Sea, from which its ships sailed into the Indian Ocean. Tyre was a double city. 
One part, called Palsetyrus—Old Tyre—or sometimes continental Tyre, lay on the main¬ 
land. On two rocky islands in front of this lay the sea-port, probably connected with 
it by a mighty causeway in the sea. A great wall, built of massive blocks of stone, 
kept out the sea, and formed wharves for the loading and unloading of a great number 
of vessels from nearly every port that was known. The island portion was almost en¬ 
tirely occupied by such buildings as store-houses, manufactories, and arsenals; these 
were fine and substantial, being well built for their use; but on the mainland the quarters 
were celebrated far and wide for their handsome appearance. Numerous castles, towers, 
palaces, and temples flanked the sea-wall or covered the rising ground beyond. In the 
courts of the houses, the streets, and public squares there were beautiful gardens and 
fountains. Some of those old fountains and their reservoirs are now among the most 
remarkable works in Syria. They stand about a quarter of a mile from the shore, and 
are called the fountains of Rasel-Ain. There are four standing close to one another, 
fed by water gushing up from the bottom of artificial cisterns. They used all to be 
connected with the great canal, which carried the water to the public places of the city 
and into the paved courts of the beautiful dwellings of the famous merchant princes. 
The commerce of ancient Tyre was carried on both by caravans and by ships on the 
sea, from Abyssinia and Arabia on the south, from Armenia and Georgia on the norths 


Tyre. 


233 


from India and the utmost islands of Greece, trade flowed constantly into this “ Tyrus 
of perfect beauty.” The fair city was “ made glorious in the midst of the sea,” and the 
richest products of every known country came to her ports. This rich trade was described 
by the prophet Ezekiel in quaint Oriental language: 

Thou art situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles. Thy borders are in 
the midst of seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy ship-boards of fir 
trees of Senir ; they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee; of oaks have they made 
thine oars; thy benches of ivory. Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt thou spreadest forth to be 
thy sail; blue and purple, that which covers thee. 



THE VALLEY OF SHECHEM, ONE OF THE CITIES OF REFUGE AND THE FIRST CAPITAL OF 

THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 

Riches, fairs, merchandise, mariners, and men of war—all that was desirable from 
all the cities and countries of the world—are described by the prophet as having found 
their way to the city. The manufacturers and artisans were among the most skillful in 
the world. Hiram sent many of them to work upon the temple and palace at Jerusalem, 
and their celebrity spread to all countries. They had particular skill in making dyes. The 
rich crimson of the “ Tyrian purple,” was so beautiful that it was called the royal color, and 
worn by kings. It was admired in the distant west as well as the east, for Homer sung of 

“Belts, 

That rich with Tyrian dye, refulgent glowed.” 

It was obtained from a kind of shell-fish known as the Murex, which is still found all 



234 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


along this coast. Tyre was as important in ancient history as in commerce. It was a fair 
and beautiful possession, which nearly all the old conquerors wished to make their own. 
In about 720 b.c., Sargon, King of Assyria, spent five years in besieging it, and finally 
had to give up; and almost two centuries afterward Nebuchadnezzar met with only half 
success after a siege of thirteen years; and it was not until more than two centuries after 
that it yielded to the powerful Alexander, after a determined attack that lasted seven 
months, in about the year 332 b.c. She had troubles of her own many times, and suffered 
losses, especially when Dido and her colony suddenly departed with a new fleet, weighted 
down with men and treasure; but Alexander was the first foreigner to entirely wrest the 
city out of the hands of the Phoenicians. The great trade, part of which had been 
gradually drawn away by Carthage, was now almost entirely absorbed by the new port 
of Alexandria, and the harbors and roadsteads of the “mistress of the seas” were no 
longer the wonder of the world. 

After awhile it was restored and rebuilt in Roman times, and it once more became a 
great seat of trade; for the Phoenicians were the kind of people whose energy can never 
be put down. Some people think that Tyre was built by a colony from Sidon, which, 
was also Phoenician, and a sister-city situated about twenty miles north of Tyre, on the 
shores of the blue Mediterranean, near the modern town known as Sarda, “ sitting in 
the sea.” It was one of the first cities in the world, and is believed to have been built 
by Zidon, the oldest son of Canaan. Joshua called the city “Sidon the Great,” and 
Homer celebrates the wealth and skill and prosperity of the Zidonians. The walls of 
ancient Sidon embraced a large area; her commodious double harbors were crowded witk 
ships from every coast, and long lines of caravans brought to her doors the luxuries and 
treasures of every eastern land. Secure in her strength, she “ dwelt careless, after the 
manner of the Zidonians,” and none dared to molest her. It was built with stout walls, 
towers, palaces, and temples on a rising mound, with the sea on the north and west, and 
a river bed forming a natural moat on the south, while on the east it was protected by 
high hills. In the time of Sidon’s greatest prosperity—nearly three thousand years ago 
—it was the leading city of Phoenicia; it was also the oldest city of that nation, and was 
looked upon as the headquarters of the entire country, being familiarly called the 
“ Metropolis,” or the “ Great City.” The name of Sidonia, or Zidonia, was often given 
to Phoenicia itself; for the people, the works, and the power of this great city were 
typical of the whole land. There is scarcely a nation of the very early times more 
interesting than the Phoenicians; it was distinguished for industry, commerce, and naviga¬ 
tion. The people were much like the Hebrews, with a similar language. Perhaps they 
both came from the same race at first; but they were a separate nation, living on the 
south-eastern coasts of the Mediterranean before the fifteenth century b.c., when the 
Israelites went into Canaan. The Phoenicians were different from almost all other ancient 
people, because, as an English writer says, they were colonizers not conquerors; peaceful 


Si(io 7 i. 


235 


merchants, not fighting meddlers ; intrepid and enterprising seamen, not bold and am¬ 
bitious soldiers; industrious and ingenious workmen and creators, not ruthless and 
wanton destroyers of the labors of their fellow-men. They did a great deal toward the 
world’s civilization, because they made and scattered useful things and the arts of manufac¬ 
ture, because they spread knowledge and culture, all of which they partly wrought out 
in their own land, and partly received from the many foreign countries they visited. With 
them the most desirable qualities of men were not brute-like courage and military valor„ 



which could make enemies and conquer them ; but such courage as, combined with skill, 
enabled them to be good seamen and e.xplorers. Intelligence and ingenuity were dearer 
to them than the spoils of war, or extension of empire. Their colonies were established 
for the sake of enterprise rather than dominion; that is to spread their arts and enlarge 
their trade, not for the glory of subduing other people to their will. The narrow strip of 
land of the mother country of Phoenicia lay chiefly between Mount Lebanon and the 
south-eastern coast of the Great Sea. It was a fertile land, rich in timber trees and 









































236 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


fruits, where pines, firs, cypresses, sycamores, and cedars grew in great forests, and 
groves of figs, olives, dates, pomegranates, citrons, and almonds filled the valleys and 
engirdled other cities as they did Sidon, 

The country was not united into one great independent state, but w^as made up of 
separate cities and colonies, • each of which had its allies or enemies among the others, 
although sometimes all would unite against a foreign invasion or any danger that 
threatened them alike. Every city was governed by a king or petty chief, while under 
him, or with him, there was a body of judges—either members of the aristocracy or men 
elected by the people—who had a share in the government. But the main interest of 
the land was in commerce and manufacture, and the matters of government—so impor¬ 
tant to the Greeks—were of comparatively small account. Their prosperity was at its 
height from the eleventh to the sixth century b.c., and it was during that era that they 
established many colonies on the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean. Being great 
navigators, they never lacked courage to try unknown parts of the sea; while they were 
so thrifty and enterprising that wherever they went they planted a settlement. Cyprus, 
Rhodes, the ^gean Sea Islands, Sardinia, Sicily, the Balearic Islands, Cilicia, and Spain 
were peopled by them, while the most adventurous even went beyond the Pillars of 
Hercules—two great rocks which stood at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar—out of 
the Mediterranean upon the Atlantic Ocean. One party founded the city of Cadiz in 
Spain, or the ancient city of Gades on the same site; and others crossed the stormy 
waters of the modern Bay of Biscay to the Scilly Isles and coast of Cornwall in Britain, 
or went to the Canaries, or the Azores; and one of the parties hired by Necho, King of 
Egypt, went around Africa from the Red Sea to the Nile. In the Eastern Seas there 
were Phoenician trading-places on the Arabian and Persian Gulfs. These opened com¬ 
munication from the eastern coast of*Africa to Western India, and Ceylon. 

Thus it was that the wide trade of Sidon grew, and afterward of her more powerful 
daughter-city Tyre, and still later of her yet more commanding grand-daughter Carthage. 
These celebrated Phoenician centers one after another controlled the commerce of the 
ancient world from the earliest of seafaring times, till their art spread over the earth 
and became common property. Beside carrying their wares and manufactures abroad, 
they did a large import trade; what they did not produce themselves they got from 
others, partly for their own use, but chiefly to send out again to other places where it 
was rare and would bring good prices. Thus history-writers show us, to Sidon and to 
Tyre there w'ere brought the wealth of every land : spices—especially myrrh and frank¬ 
incense—of Arabia; ivory, ebony, and cotton goods of India; linen yarn and com from 
Eg}'pt; wool and wine from Damascus; embroideries from Babylon and Nineveh ; 
pottery from Attica; horses and chariots from Armenia; copper from the shores of the 
Euxine Sea; lead from Spain; and tin from Cornwall. In return for these, or along 
with the cargoes made up for exportation, Phoenicia sent out quantities of her own 


Sido 7 i, 


37 


products, principally woods, fruits, glassware, and rich dyes, especially the Tyrian 
purple, which was used to border royal robes. The first glass in the world was made in 
ancient Sidon; it was partly manufactured from fine white sand found in plentiful quanti¬ 
ties near the headland called Mount Carmel. It was a novelty and a luxury, and was 
in great demand in all elegant cities, and brought e.xtravagant prices. Gathering wealth, 



ancient city gate in SYRIA. 


or money-making as we would say, was the great object of the Phoenicians. They per¬ 
fected themselves in manufacturing and arts, for that; they explored the world for new 
markets for their wares, and for new wares for their markets; and they even did a 
kidnappino- and slave trade besides using all the lawful means they knew. Their eager¬ 
ness for riches was of more benefit to the world than to themselves, for, while they 
became selfish and arrogant, they were the means of finding out and telling other nations 














238 


Cities of the Ancient World. 

many important and useful things, and of supplying less ingenious and enterprising- 
people with their articles and also their arts. “Phoenician drinking-cups of silver and 
of gold, and Sidon’s works in brass were famous, and her weavers were skilled in making 
cloth of flax and of cotton grown and spun in Egypt; and they were the best ship¬ 
builders and the most famous miners of their times, beside being great dyers, weavers, 
metalists, and glass-makers. All of science and arts that any nation could give, they 
were able to develop and improve upon, and then to spread far and wide. Their most 
important legacy to the world was the alphabet, for it was they who made a sign tc 
stand for a sound, as an improvement upon the difficult writing-language of the Egyptian 
hieroglyphs, and from which, through the Greeks and the Romans, we have our alpha¬ 
bet. The Phoenicians gave the world a great deal in material things ; but, excepting 
the alphabet, no such intellectual, moral, or political improvements came from them as 
from Greece and Rome ; in these things they had a low standing. The people rolled in 
wealth, and had many bad ways. Their enterprise and industry we admire, but because 
they pushed these only for the money they would bring, their great city was a vanity 
fair, gorgeous and beautiful with all that wealth could provide ; but its people were 
worldly, unhappy, and sometimes degraded. 

The Sidonian ladies were extravagantly fond of gold and silver ornaments, and be¬ 
decked themselves with chains, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and rings without number. 
Strings of coins were worn around the forehead, suspended from the neck, and falling 
down even to the waist ; and their large loose garments were most elaborate in material 
and style. 

Sidon was one of the cities which Joshua named for the Israelites, but instead of 
ever belonging to them, it was often in arms against them, either by itself or in league 
with some of their deadliest enemies. After a while it was conquered by its own city 
of Tyre, but the Sidonians preferred a foreign yoke to that; and from that time owned 
allegiance to Assyria, then to Chaldaea, and then to Persia. With the last empire it 
kept a sort of independence, and flourished in great prosperity, which was broken up by 
a revolt in about 350 b.c. A score of years later the people yielded at once to Alexan¬ 
der, after which Sidon was in the possession of the Syrians, then the Greeks and then the 
Romans, but the old-time importance never again went back to it. 

The great city of Palestine, at the beginning of the Christian Era, was Caesarea; it 
was built by Herod on the site of a town which some writers call “Strato^s Tower.” 
The city was built with great magnificence, and named in honor of the emperor Augustus. 
Its completion was celebrated, B.c. 13, by splendid games, and it speedily rose to a 
position of great importance, with a population of two hundred thousand. A noble 
temple, dedicated to Caesar, crowned a height within the city walls. A theater, a circus, 
and aqueducts were built, and a magnificent harbor, said to have been equal in extent 
to the Piraeus of Athens, was formed. Great stones were sunk in the harbor to the 


Ccesarea. 


239 



depth of twenty fathoms, and an immense breakwater was made so as to defend the 
ships from gales. Lofty towers were built upon it, having vaulted chambers within for 
the sailors and a broad quay which was a promenade as well as a landing-place for 
merchandise. This beautiful harbor, with its strong tower at the entrance to protect 
the city from invasion, was the boast of Caesarea. Many of the early Christians did 
some of their first missionary work here, among whom were Philip with his four daughters, 
and Peter, who baptized the first Gentile convert in this city. It was here that Paul, a 


VALLEY OF JEHOSAPHAT, WITH THE TOMBS OF ABSALOM, ST. JAMES AND ZACHARIAS. 

prisoner, preached of “righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” and made 
the proud Felix tremble. Here also, Herod, the grandson of the founder of Caesarea, 
murdered the Apostle James, and would gladly have murdered Peter also. It is recorded 
in history as the capital of Roman tyranny in Judea. There the great revolt broke out 
that spread all over Syria, in about the middle of the first century a.d. In after years 
it was occupied by the Crusaders; now it is a heap of half-buried ruins, and a few fisher¬ 
men live where the magnificent work of Herod once stood—a superb Grecian city upon 
the Syrian shore. 



MESOPOTAMIA. 


T he first cities of the world were in Asia. The earliest empire was probably founded 
about two hundred years after the flood, by Nimrod, a great-grandson of Noah. 
This was in Mesopotamia, the lower portion of what is now Turkey-in-Asia, between the 
Euphrates and Tigris rivers. For thousands of years it has been a sandy waste, dotted 
by a few small cities and Arab villages, while the glories of powerful people lay hidden 
in a few mounds which looked like natural hills on the river banks. When some of 
these mounds were opened, they were found to contain long-lost chapters of Chaldean, 
Assyrian, and Babylonian history, and by the patient work of some French and English 
archaeologists, have been made to tell the world almost the full story of mighty, ancient 
nations. 

The Assyrian empire was founded by Ashur, who left the banks of the Euphrates 
after the Confusion of Babel, and going eastward, made conquests so great that he was 
called king. He built cities upon the banks of the Tigris river, and of which Nineveh 
became his capital. 

By successful wars this empire grew to be one of the most powerful of all that flour¬ 
ished between one and two thousand years before Christ. It stood for many centuries, 
but at last, through the careless neglect of king after king, it gradually declined, and 
was overcome by the Babylonians and Persians some time in 800 B.c. After this con¬ 
quest the Ninevites rallied ; they set up the second Assyrian Empire, and rebuilt the 
old capital. 

But they were again overpowered in 606 b.c., and this time when the “ exceeding 
great city ” fell, it was forever, so that two centuries later, the people of the country did 
not even know where it had been. 

Nineveh stood on the Tigris, opposite where Mosul is now, which is about on a line 
with the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean, or the city of Washington in the United 
States. The waters of the “ Royal River ” washed its western wall, which followed the 
stream for more than two and a half miles. The northern wall was straight and seven 
thousand feet long. It was made in three sections ; the first two rose gradually to the 
eastern portion, which was level and higher than the others. The eastern was the 
longest and most irregular of all the ramparts. It skirted a rocky ridge, which forced it 
to curve westward gradually after the first three-fourths of a mile ; the whole length being 
three miles. The southern wall was three thousand feet long, connecting the ends of the 
two side walls and crossing a deep ravine. The area of eighteen miles inclosed 


A'ineveh. 


241 


by these walls was shaped like a “triangle with its apex abruptly cut off to the south 
the circuit was about eight miles, surrounded by the Tigris, and by the waters of the 
Khosr-Su, whose waters, coming to the city from a northerly direction, were turned into 
the broad, deep moat. The walls were more than a hundred' feet high and so 
broad that three chariots could be driven abreast across the top. One-half the height 
was built of neat blocks of hewn stone, masoned together, smoothed off, polished and 
finished with battlements or gradines; aL.^'e the stone was a continuation of sun-dried 
bricks, completing the height of the ramparts. At short distances apart many hundreds 
of high towers surmounted the wall and guarded the city gates. In the center of the 
slope of the northern wall stood one of the chief portals, through which a roadway led 
out of the capital. The great gate had 
three paved entrances ; that in the 
center was ornamented with plain slabs 
of alabaster ; but the arches on either 
side by colossal bulls that had wings and 
human heads, and other figures sculp¬ 
tured in stone. Between the gate¬ 
ways were two arched chambers, large 
enough to hold a good-sized body of 
soldiers. The massive gates were 
probably made of wood. Moats and 
outworks beyond the walls were an 
extra defense of the city. 

What the plan was within the 
ramparts is unknown, except that there 
were many streets and squares, gardens, 
sculptures and fine buildings, with 
pasture for the cattle, fields, trees and 
vineyards. There were about one hundred and seventy-five thousand people 
living here in the days of its greatness. The most magnificent part of Nineveh 
was in the western portion, where two vast plateaux, covered with fine buildings, stood 
close upon the walls, dividing it into three equal parts. The southern mound, called 
the Yanus —the “ Prophet Jonah ”—covers about forty acres, where once stood 

the palaces of Sennacherib and of Eseanhaddon. The Tomb of Jonah is supposed to 
be here, upon the place where the prophet of God “ cried against the wickedness of the 
city.” In the same wall the mound called Koyu^ijik stands further north. Here was a 
platform, covering about a hundred acres, occupied by the palaces and temples of the 
Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Assurbampal, which were among the largest and most 
richly ornamented structures ever known. 



NINEVEH PORTAL FIGURE. 


















242 


Cities of the Ancient f For tot. 


The second city of the empire was Calah, now known as the ruins at Nimried. 
This, too, was on the Tigris, the “arrow stream,” thirty miles below the capital. It 
covered about a thousand acres, half the area of Nineveh, and was surrounded with forti¬ 
fications. The towered walls, a hundred feet high, were nearly seven miles around, and 
were twenty-five feet deep. The handsomest part of the city was the royal quarter, 
which extended for a third of a mile along the western part. Here were the buildings 
of the king upon a huge platform raised above the level of the city, covering sixty acres 
with its stately palaces, magnificent temples, and the tower or pyramid, which is still 
famous, standing silent, dismantled and alone on the vast Assyrian plain. In ancient 
days it probably rose from a large square base by several stages or stories to about tw^ 
hundred feet in height. Within were arched chambers or galleries lined with bricks. No 
one knows for what the tower was built, nor what purpose it has served. There are no 
traces of its having been put to any use—surely not for a tomb. It was part of a temple' 
which contained courts and galleries, apartments for the priests and closets for the shrines, 
and the garments and instruments used in making sacrifices. At the great entrance- 
gates stood colossal animals with other sacred figures, covered with inscriptions. The 
hallways and chambers were ornamented with slabs sculptured with religious subjects, 
and wherever the slabs did not hide the rude bricks, enameled bricks were placed to fill 
the gaps. The interior was usually decorated with paintings of figures or patterns on the 
wall plastering. The roofing of the Nimried tower was of cedar, brought from the 
mountains of Syria. 

The third great Assyrian city is said to have been Asshur, now called the ruins at 
Kileh-Sherghat, forty miles below Calah, on the opposite banks of the Tigris. It was the 
most southerly of the large towns of the empire, and was, like the others, surrounded 
by strong walls, inclosing streets, squares, houses, palaces, pyramids and temples. It 
was among the oldest of the Assyrian cities, and is said to have been the capital before 
the days of Nineveh. 

These are a few, and the most important, of all the cities, which studded the country 
between the Tigris and the mountains during the time of the Assyrian rule. On the 
western side of the river there were many great towns ; but as the country came under 
the sway of other conquerors, the traces of former wealth and glory perished. But not 
entirely ; and almost within our own century the slight remains of cities and towns, or a 
single palace, temple or tower have gradually been fitted together, bit by bit, till the 
history has become nearly complete. 

We owe a great deal to the discoveries among the ruins near the little Arab village 
of Khorsabad. The small stream of Khoer-su, which flowed into the Tigris at Nineveh, 
connected the ancient capital with the imperial residence of Sargon, about nine miles 
from the north-east corner of the city wall. It occupied a square platform, measuring 
about a mile each way ; near the center of the north-west side stood the great T shaped 


Khorsabad. 


243 

palace, with thirty courts and over two hundred apartments, and an imposing front a 
fourth of a mile long. 

Every effort at grandeur, magnificence and beauty was centred—and reached its 
height—in the palaces. They were built upon vast platforms made of layers of sun dried 
bricks, incased by solid stone masonry, with edges protected by a parapet. The pave¬ 
ments were made of stone slabs with inscriptions upon them, or pattern and sculpture 
ornaments. The large bricks were sometimes two feet square. The platform was usually 
terraced, one stage being connected with another by staircases or inclined planes. The 
palaces were mainly composed of courts, grand halls, and small rooms for the private 
use of the royal household, all built in squares or oblongs. The rooms and halls were 
not well arranged ; there were few passage-ways and corridors ; the chambers seemed 
to be grouped together, with ten or twelve opening from one to another without any 
single connecting way. The halls were very large assembly rooms paved with brick and 
ornamented with elaborate sculptures on all sides. 

The inclosure of this palace of Sargon, son of Sennacherib, was nearly square, each 
side being about six thousand feet long, with the corners of the wall pointing toward the 
four cardinal points. The palace itself stood upon a raised platform which projected con¬ 
siderably beyond the middle of the north-west wall, so that the side does not seem to 
have been defended where it overlooked the open plain. It was entered from the city 
by an outer portal. Over this was an arch of enameled brick, and on each side stood 
colossal human headed bulls. Within ^yas a terrace, the top of which was reached by a 
flight of steps or an inclined plane, and the inner gateway or Propylceum of the palace. 
This was in the center of the south-east side of the first terrace, a grand gate-way, ninety 
feet wide, and about twenty-five feet deep, upon which immense winged bulls were 
sculptured ; the largest—about twenty feet high and the same distance apart—were like 
door-posts or columns to the lofty arch over the entrance. Upon this platform were the 
rooms of the royal guard, with walls which were wonderfully ornamented in plaster. 
The next platform, on which the palace stood, rose at about three hundred feet from the 
edge of this, having its level about ten feet higher. Here was the great court, into which 
the main portals of the palace itself opened. This was a vast space, surrounded by 
apartments on three sides, whose walls, or facades were, some of them, richly sculptured 
in stone or decorated in plaster. 

The principal part of the palace was made up of the state apartments, with a mag¬ 
nificent sculptured facade, and consisting of a suite of ten rooms, five vast halls, the 
most splendid in the palace ; one long and rather narrow room, and four oblong cham¬ 
bers,—all lined with sculptures picturing the royal customs of Assyria. In another 
court stood the Temple. 

The Assyrians were a very religious people. In their monuments and inscriptions all 
success in war or the chase is ascribed to the favor of the gods. The best of their 


244 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


plunder was given in sacrifices and offerings ; and every king beautified and enlarged 
the temples built by his predecessor, and to them also added new ones. In every way, 
Professor Rawlinson says, religion seems to have held an important place with the people ; 
they fought for the honor of their gods, and aimed to e.xtend their belief as much as their 
dominions. 

These “ fierce people ” of the Scriptures were in countenance something like the 
Jews. Their limbs were strong and brawny, and their shoulders broad and 
large. 

They lived mainly for the sake of conquest; continual wars made them brave and 
hardy, so that they were ready for hand-to-hand struggles with the lion and many other 
fierce animals which abounded in the country. This was the sport of the men who made 
up that nation which was “a mighty and a strong one, which, as a tempest of hail and a 
destroying storm passed as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, cast down to the earth, 
with the hand,” of which the capital was called the “bloody city,” or “city of blood.” 
But with all his mercilessness in battle, the Assyrian was not altogether cruel and in¬ 
human ; he made conquests with all his might, but often forgave and spared his captives, 
and treated the helpless and the women with thoughtful care. They were a proud peo¬ 
ple, feeling themselves above all others in rank and the favor of the gods, in wisdom and 
in valor. Their armies consisted of chariot-warriors, cavalry, and foot-soldiers, who 
fought mainly with the spear and bow, although they also used swords, heavy- 
maces, daggers, battle-axes, battering-rams, and,other instruments of destruction. The 
king, the nobles and the chief officers of state rode in the chariots, and usually fought 
from them. War-chariots were made of wood, with a great, broad tired wheel on 
either side of the square or curved front. They were entered from the rear, which 
was built quite open, but was closed sometimes by hanging a shield across. A pole 
ran from the center, and the car was drawn by two or three horses. The trappings 
were magnificent, consisting of bridle, collar and breastplate, rather bulkily and 
heavily ornamented. The charioteer drove by two reins to*each horse, using a short 
whip. Beside the driver, one or two warriors rode in the chariot, sometimes using- 
their bows from here, and occasionally dismounting to get into the “ thick of the battle.” 
The dress of the warrior was a belted tunic, or a short coat of mail. This was a kind 
of shirt, covered with small metal scales. He sometimes wore a helmet, but often 
his head as well as his arm, and, out of the chariot, his legs, were quite unprotected. 
In Assyrian warfare the soldiers on horseback, or cavalry, were next important to 
those in the chariots. They wore pointed helmets, embroidered tunics, and a belt to 
which the sword was attached ; others were completely clothed, except the arms, which 
were bare from above the elbow. Part of the cavalry were archers, part spearmen. 
The horses and riders must have been wonderfully trained. The horses, with the 
bridle upon their necks, and no groom at their heads, as in earlier days, would advance 



5 £7 a 3 

1-2, ASSYRIANS. 3-4, COURT OFFICERS. 5, KING. 6. FAN BEARER. 7, AR.MS BEARER. 

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Khorsabad. 


245 

or stand, while the warrior, without stirrup, or more than a pad for a saddle, used both 
hands upon his weapons. 

Next to wav, the favorite pastime was hunting. Chasing the lion, the wild bull, and 
the onager, or wild ass, were royal sports ; but it was beneath the king to kill gentle 
animals. The stag, v/ild goat or ibex, the gazelle and the hare, were taken mostly to sup¬ 
ply the royal table with game. The fishing of the Assyrians seems to have been as 
scientific as that of some modern young folks, who sit contentedly on the dock with a 
piece of thread fastened to a bent pin. The chief aim of the people being conquest, 
they fell behind their neighbors in many of what are called the peaceful arts; 
yet Nineveh was an important center for trade and manufacture in the old world, not¬ 
withstanding. From it ran several lines of commerce, especially overland routes. 

The Assyrians did not know very much about boats and navigation. They made 
barges and rafts to carry their provisions, chariots, and w'ar machinery across rivers, and 
fastened inflated skins to them to keep them afloat. The men 
and horses forded the streams, or crossed deeper water with the 
aid of the skins. They used kufas, too, such as are now used 
on the Euphrates and Tigris—round, wickerwork boats, covered 
with skins and smeared with a coating of bitumen. These were 
sometimes large enough to hold a chariot and two rowers, who 
used oars like long-handled mallets. Beside the kufa there 
was a larger, flattish bottomed rowboat, which had six rowers 
and a helmsman. These were for warfare. Stones and wood, 
brought by water, were loaded on a raft-like barge, with ropes 
attached, by which men upon the banks drew the crafts 
along. For the sake of further transportation, the Assyrians 
after a while copied the rowboats and galleys of the Phoe¬ 
nicians, but they did not introduce their sailboats, but kept 
to river navigation, leaving commerce by way of the sea to their neighbors. 
Nineveh and the cities near by, seem to have been more ready to receive 
articles than to send out their wares. They did not manufacture very largely, 
and only exported a few of their products. In weaving they excelled ; they 
knew how to work into the woof colored threads and tissues of gold, and they had 
plenty of indigo cotton and silk highly prized in other countries. They were not very 
clever at pushing business or commerce for themselves, and so the valuable articles 
always in demand at the magnificent capital usually came chiefly by the way of some 
other countries. Gold from Arabia and Western Africa, tin from Cornwall on the coast 
of Britain or the “ Tin Islands ”—now Scilly Isles—came through the Phoenicians ; pre¬ 
cious metals, stones and gems from many parts of the world were understood and well 
appreciated by the Assyrians, but obtained through the enterprising Babylonian mer- 



SOLDIER. 


246 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


chants. Syria supplied the country with wood, and many other countries round about 
found market here for the best that they could raise. The people were fond of beauty 
and splendor. They wanted rich materials, which they well knew how to use. Few 
nations if any excelled them in this. Wonderful things they made with metals, ivory 
and jewels ; manufactured beautiful glassware, embroidered rich garments and hangings,, 
made and upholstered splendid furniture, which consisted of thrones, stands, tables, 
chairs, couches and footstools ; but above all were their vast and magnificent buildings, 
which have only been equaled by the Egyptians, who found here their models, and 
“ bettered the instruction.” Great masses of stone which was not found in their own country 
—weighing many tons, were brought over long distances and placed on artificial platforms 
nearly a hundred feet high ; and as these were finely carved before they were set in 
place, the mechanics must have been sure of their being safely moved. The transporta¬ 
tion on land was done by means of sledges, drawn by small armies of men, over wooden 



ASSYRIAN RELIEFS. 

rollers. Immense ropes and cables were used to pull the great burden and to keep it 
from swerving or falling. The stones were raised by the aid of strong pulleys ; but the 
chief part of the work fell upon men, thousands being employed on a single piece of 
work. 

The plain of Assyria without and within the city walls was capable of growing large 
crops if well watered. Scarcely any rain fell in the country, so over the whole territory 
there was a system of kandks, underground aqueducts, and a network of canals. Large 
dams in the Tigris, formed by great pieces of square stones fastened together by iron 
clamps, leveled the stream so that the canals on either bank were filled ; and from 
them smaller ditches carried the water over the plains. The underground conduits 
filled wells or cisterns from which the water was drawn by hand when it was wanted. 
The fields yielded crops of wheat, barley, sesame apd millet, while vineyards and 











Khoi'sabad. 


247 


orchards also dotted the country and supplied the people with pomegranates, figs and 
other fruits. The principal food of the Assyrians was raised from the earth ; they ate 
more grains and fruit than game and fish. The crops, trees and vines were tended by 
the common people and laborers, who dressed in short-sleeved tunics, reaching from the 



ANTECHAMBER OF THE PALACE OF AN ASSYRIAN KING. 

neck to the knee and belted in at the waist. Head and feet were uncovered, except by 
those who could wear the fringed tunics ; these had sandals also. The thick hair was 
arranged in rows of stiff curls at the back of the head ; the long beard, too, was care¬ 
fully and elaborately arranged by men of every rank. Armlets, bracelets, earrings and 
many other ornaments were worn by those above the laboring class, both men and women. 
































































248 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


Some of the “better class” had long fringed robes with a showy girdle, and a cross belt, 
from the left shoulder, often richly embroidered with jewels, held the sword sheath. 
The women’s robes were less scant than the men’s ; they were striped, or patterned and 
fringed, sometimes having an outer garment like a mantle, or long circular. 

The common houses are entirely lost; they are thought not to have been very 
substantial and were probably much like pavilions or tents. The household vessels 
were of pottery, glass and metals, gracefully shaped and often decorated with figures, 
patterns or inscriptions. The people were fond of entertainments, which the 
wealthy citizens made as elegant and sumptuous as possible, with rich food, delicious 
fruits and a great deal of wine, and many kinds of amusement, especially dancing 
and music. They had eight or nine different instruments, and in times of peace, 
enjoyed music very much. Their musicians played separately or in bands upon harps, 
lyres and cymbals, double-pipes, the guitar or cithern, several kinds of drum, and a few 
others, particularly trumpets, which may not be fairly called musical. Their music was 
not martial, but for peaceful enjoyment and religious ceremonies. Besides being musi¬ 
cal, some of these people were literary. At least, in the Koyunjik mound “chambers of 
records ” have been found, which are called the King's library. “ These were small 
rooms partly filled with clay tablets, varying from one inch to nine inches in length,” and 
crowded with fine writing upon a great many subjects. From these a key to the language, 
history, customs, science and literature of the Assyrians has been formed. They have 
helped to explain the inscriptions lining the walls of the palaces and temples—and upon 
the hollow cylinders. These six-sided and eight-sided prisms of very fine and thin terra 
cotta were covered with records of the worthy acts of the king and religious invocations, 
and set in the corners of the temples, probably as much to preserve them as to dedicate 
them to the gods. The king was to be famous forever ; he was the ruler of all,—“ the 
lord of the kingdom, master of the souls and bodies of his people.” No lavishness was 
too great for his royal residence; no demands too great for his pleasure, nor any sacri¬ 
fices too heavy for carrying out his ambitious plans of conquest. 


BABYLON. 


W HEN the “children of men” journeyed away from the vicinity of Mt, Ararat thejr 
began to build a city of brick, and also a tower, “ whose top might reach unto 
heaven.” They called it Babel, or Gate of God ; but the Lord suddenly stopped their 
impossible enterprise by causing them to speak different languages. 

This threw the people into so great a tumult and uproar that from then till now the 
word Babel has meant confusion, “ They left off to build the city ” and were “ scattered 
abroad upon the face of the earth ; ” but a year after, when Nimrod, a wise and powerful 
man, wished to found an empire, he chose this spot in the midst of its fair rich plain. It 
stood on the banks of the largest river of the country, which flowed southward into a 
great sea not so very far away. In memory of the other event Nimrod called his city, 
Babylon. 

Of what the city was like, or what was done in it during these first days, history tells 
very little,—not even the time is known for certain, but it is believed to have been about 
two thousand and two hundred years before Christ (2200 b. c.) Some other cities were 
also founded about this time ; Nineveh was one of them, the seat of the emperor Ninus, 
who ruled the Assyrian Empire. From first to last this was closely connected with Baby¬ 
lon. It began by capturing the king and his children, putting them all to death and 
bringing Babylon into the Empire^ When Ninus died his wonderful queen Semiramis, 
anxious for everlasting fame, decided to begin her reign,—rather her regency till her son 
should grow up—by some mighty piece of work, so she collected two millions of men 
from the provinces of her Empire and sent them to enlarge and beautify Babylon. The 
city became so grand and magnificent that it was for ages the admiration of the world. 
The Assyrian kings which followed, having no such spirit and ability as the lady, pro¬ 
voked the Babylonians sorely ; before long they threw off the yoke and the beautiful 
city became the capital of the new Assyrian Empire of Babylonia, or Chaldea. After 
about two centuries and a half more this independent nation destroyed the second Assyrian 
Empire, which had centered around Nineveh after the downfall of the first. Other victories, 
too, they won, till the Babylonians became a large and powerful domain, with the center 
of life and importance at Babylon, the “great city.” Year after year it was enriched by 
the spoils of many conquests over wealthy countries and magnificent cities ; but the Baby¬ 
lonians did not trust to conquest for the making of their capital. They were quick 
and clever and worked industriously themselves in the arts they knew, making 
buildings of bricks, many costly things with metals, and fine fabrics in their looms 


Cities of the A7icie7it World. 


250 

Immense armies were garrisoned here and brisk trade by water and land carried 
on with all parts of the known world. Old Herodotus, “the father of history,” 
came from Greece to visit the country, about 450 B.c. He found that the empire con¬ 
tained “a vast number of great cities,” and wrote a full description of Babylon, which 
surpassed them all. The magnificence described by him might be doubted, but that the 
researches of our own century tell the same story. This city, capital of many empires 
in the course of time, was one of the wonders of the world, for its size, its buildings and 
gardens, and for its vast wealth. Its walls, in the form of a square, had over a 
hundred towers rising at regular distances above the battlements ; they measured 
sixty miles around the city, fifteen miles each way. They were three hundred and fifty 
feet high—higher than the loftiest tower of the London Parliament Houses—and 
eighty-seven feet thick ; the top was so broad that a four-horse chariot could turn 
upon it ; they were built of cemented brick made of clay, taken out of the broad 
deep ditch which surrounded the city. On each side were twenty-five gates of solid 
brass, with brazen lintels and door-post. 

Through the center of the city, from north to south, ran the river Euphrates, 
between quays of the same thickness as the walls. These also had each twenty-five 
brass gates, and steps leading down to the river from the cross-streets of the city. 
Babylon was made up of regularly planned streets, broad and straight, which met at 
right angles and formed nearly seven hundred great squares, each of which measured 
two miles and a quarter round. But the entire surface of the two hundred square miles 
inclosed by the walls of Babylon probably was not built up. Beside the blocks of 
three and four story houses of the time, a large part was occupied by country 
houses, gardens and parks, while even fields and orchards lay within the fortifi¬ 
cations; artificial streams watered them and made the “gieat city” green and 
fertile every where. The river was crossed in the heart of the town by a mova¬ 
ble drawbridge ; it was roofed over, though thirty feet broad and an eighth of a 
mile long. The hewn stones of the piers upon which it was built, were fastened together 
with iron clamps. Ferry boats, plying between the landing places of the gates, also con¬ 
nected the two parts of the city, while below the bridge was a tunnel under the river, 
which was used for a passageway between the palaces which stood at each end of the 
bridge. On the eastern bank was the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, the larger of the 
two, and one of the most vast and magnificent structures the world ever saw. Its great 
outer wall made a circuit of seven miles, inside of which was another, and this inclosed 
a third. These inner walls were decorated with hunting scenes, painted on brick ; the 
gates were of brass, two of them being so built that they could only be opened or shut 
by machinery. Within the ramparts of the palace were the famous Hanging Gardens, 
that the king built for his queen, Amrytis, that she who had come from the fair green 
hills of Media, might find no cause to pine for the home of her childhood in the midst 


Babylon. 


251 


of this vast Babylonian plain. The clever workmen set up stone pillars and arches over 
nearly four acres of ground. At a height of seventy-five feet the base of the gardens 
was made by laying a floor of stone slabs. These were spread with reeds and bitumen, 
upon which bricks were laid, cemented together, and covered with sheets of lead, which 
kept the moisture from flowing down out of the deep layer of earth above. After 
this plan, arch upon arch was raised to form a terraced pyramid, three hundred feet 
high ; when the vast mound was completed, it was 
planted with trees and shrubs; flower beds were laid 
out, bordered by shady avenues, and set with fount¬ 
ains, summer-houses, and handsome banquet-halls. 

Upon the summit was a large reservoir which was 
kept filled from the Euphrates by a screw, for the 
purpose of watering the gardens and supplying the 
many fountains upon the different terraces. From 
various places in the gardens there were fine and 
extended views of the magnificent city and the 
plains beyond, where carefully built canals and lakes 
lay to receive the overflow of the river in times of 
freshet, or to carry it into the Tigris. The king was 
very proud of all this work he had done upon his im¬ 
perial home ; he had made the palace itself massive 
and beautiful to correspond with its surroundings. 

Three of the halls, used for certain festivals, were 
constructed of brass, one under another, and 
opened by curious sets of machinery. Most of it 
was built in brick, with all the rich and comfortable 
apartments appropriate to “ the house of royalty in 
Babylon,” of which the king himself boasted “silver, 
gold, metals, gems, nameless and priceless, objects 
of rare value, immense treasures, have I heaped 
together to ornament that tower, the abode of my 
majesty.” Even libraries were collected, and in those 
warlike days there was little of reading and writing ; 
but the Babylonians knew something about the three R’s. They had an alphabet; some 
early nations, you know, had not, and did their writing by a language in figures of birds 
and animals, called hieroglyphics. The Babylonians kept their Records upon tiles and 
cylinders of clay or cement, not knowing how to make books, paper, or parchment with 
the materials they had ; so the two libraries of Nebuchadnezzar’s palace would look to 
ns very much like some scratched up pieces of tile and bricks out of a pottery shop. 














252 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


The key to the Babylonian language is not found, although there have been many pieces 
of inscriptions preserved, and scholars are patiently at work who feel sure that one day 
it will be discovered. 

The opposite palace was also very handsome, though smaller than Nebuchadnezzar’s. 
It belonged to Neriglissar, and contained many bronze statues. In the center of the city 
stood the temple of Bel, the most remarkable of all those wonderful buildings. It was a 
pyramid, square at the base, with each side six hundred feet long ; it was made up of 
eight stories, which grew smaller toward the top, and crowned by an astronomical 
observatory, reached by a winding ascent. Within the temple were large halls, the ceil¬ 
ings of which were supported by pillars—chapels for the worship of Bel and other gods ; 
altars and shrines containing statues, censers, cups and sacred vessels, all of gold. On 
the topmost story was a table of beaten gold, forty feet long and about one-third as 
wide ; upon this were goblets and vases of the richest kind, while near it were three 
golden statues whose names we have from the Greeks after their own deities, which may 
have corresponded to those of the Babylonians in all but their titles. The figures of 
Jupiter—or Bel, probably—and Rhea were each forty feet high, the latter grasping a 
serpent in one hand and a jeweled scepter in the other. Juno was represented as 
sitting on a golden throne with lions at each knee, and two serpents of silver. The 
treasures of this temple, gained by the Babylonian kings in plundering their neighbors, 
were worth about six hundred millions of dollars. A similar temple, at Borsippa, the 
suburb of the city, was built in seven stages or stories, each ornamented with one of the 
seven planetary colors. The lowest stage was a square, measuring nearly three hundred 
feet each way, its four corners corresponding to the four cardinal points ; and each 
square stage above was placed a little toward the south-western edge of the one beneath 
it. This temple is known as the Birs Nimried, and was probably devoted to astronomy, 
as cylinders have been found in its ruins with dedications to “the Seven Planets.” The 
religion of the empire was the worship of sun, moon and stars, and the gods, which were 
thought to be men and women, united to the heavenly bodies after their death upon 
earth. Above all other gods the people worshiped Bel, who was also called Belus or 
Baal—meaning “ Lord.” The gods were supposed to have many forms, which were 
both monstrous and horrible : often with several heads and the limbs of both men and 
brutes. The religious ceremonies would seem to us not only very absurd, but repulsive, 
wicked and cruel. 

There is no record of the number of people living in the great capital, but we know 
that there must have been many thousands—even millions—from the amount of work 
done not only in the regular trade of daily life, but in these great brick structures, which 
were, in some cases, built in a very short time. V/est of the river was the oldest part of 
the city, and where the foundations of the first settlement were laid. Nearly every trace 
of that time is gone now, and the Babylon of history was the great city on both sides 


* 


I 


Babylon. 253 

of the river, with its busy trade, regular streets, extensive buildings and luxurious 
living. 

Robes of fine linen, falling to the feet, were worn under woolen tunics, and covered 
with a handsome white cloak. On the head finely plaited turbans or miters were placed. 
Double and triple carpets covered their floors, with such colors, corresponding to the 
Surciones hanging upon the walls, so beautiful that the Oriental kings imported them for 
robes of state. Nowhere were such fine veils and hangings made as in the looms of 
Babylon and Borsippa. Here were combined delicacy of fabric and splendor of coloring 
in articles of dress and of furniture, made of cotton, linen and woolen. All that the 
country supplied the people, they used according to their knowledge. 

It was not alone in weaving that they were skillful, but in the arts of machinery and 
working metals, for which they found furnace-fuel in the plentiful supplies of naphtha and 
petroleum near by. Their ability in using metals did a great deal to make up for what 
the country lacked in stone and wood. Mathematics, astronomy and painting they also 
understood. 

For the necessities and luxuries they could not supply for themselves, every country in 
the world was called upon. Gold, precious stones, rich dye-stuffs and perfumes, which 
they wanted in large quantities, came from the East, from northern India and Persia ; 
fine wool and shawls were brought in caravans from the countries now known as Canda- 
har and Cashmere, as they are to the great cities of our own times. 

Emeralds, jaspers with other glittering gems came from the Bactrian Desert, now 
called Gobi. The “ship of the desert ’’ also sailed westward, carrying to the Mediter¬ 
ranean colonies, Asia Minor and the European frontier, the rare things of the Orient, and 
returning laden with valuable furs and the best that the newer nations had to send ; 
while with the settlements on the Red Sea from the mines of Ethiopia, also a trade of 
immense wealth to Babylon was carried on. These were but the land routes ; there 
were unlimited water-ways beside. Boats navigated the Euphrates for more than three 
hundred miles, past many important cities and into fertile districts of country where the 
people had large flocks, rich harvests, and were always occupied in taking care of these, 
in manufacturing or in learning trades and arts. Below the great capital, the broad 
yellow river flows into the Persian Gulf, whose shores were lined with pearl oysters, and 
in which the Bahrein Islands lay with their cotton plants—producing finer material even 
than those of India, and the rarest pearls in the world ; from the Gulf the Indian Ocean 
was reached, India and Ceylon. Here Babylon found trees to take the place of the 
timber lacking in her own country, here were more pearls, sugar-cane, cinnamon and all 
the spices that the people could not get,—twenty-five tons of frankincense must be 
had for every annual festival of Jupiter, to say nothing of the quantities wanted for 
private use by the luxurious people. Indian dogs, too, were taken in this way to the 
city, where they were valued most highly for some unknown reason, being ugly creatures, 


254 


Cities of the Ancient World. 


half-dog and half-tiger in looks and disposition. In this way, all the world for a time 
centered its trade in the rarest articles at Babylon, which they called the “ mistress of 
the world.” To some it was the center of land traffic for water export: or for goods 
brought in ships to be here transferred to caravans ; but mostly it was for Babylon 
itself, for her temples and palaces, her splendor loving people, and especially her king. 
Him, the Babylonian government gave a chance to be the greatest despot the world ever 
saw. The monarch’s will was law, unlimited by any code, or even by honored customs. 
He was the head of the church as well as the state, worshiped while obeyed. He had 
as many wives as he wished and as many of his subjects as he wanted were compelled 
to work upon palaces for them, or in any other way, to do his royal will. His will 
made the laws of the people, who had many singular customs. When they were sick, 
friends or servants carried them to the public squares of the city, that some of the pas¬ 
sers-by—many of whom were sure to be educated foreigners—might advise them how to 
cure their troubles. These squares were often market places, thronged with men buy¬ 
ing and selling ; sometimes it was young girls that they were bargaining for. The 
daughters of Babylon were not allowed to marry of their own will or by their parents’ 
choice, but must be sold to the highest bidder. Some that were not good looking had 
no buyers, but husbands were found for them, when the fund from the sale of the others 
was divided among them. Other laws of the times were about children and parents, 
slaves, etc. If a son denied his father, he was fined ; but for denying his mother, he 
was banished ; a master who used a slave badly was fined by the state, which also 
allowed a slave to buy his freedom when he wished to or could ; houses, lands or slaves 
could be taken as security for debt. The laws of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires 
were widely studied, well understood and strictly enforced. 

It is not well even for a king to have unlimited power ; he is almost sure to use it 
wrongly. Belshazzar felt that nothing could injure Babylon : was not the Mistress of the 
World beautiful, rich and powerful beyond any other city ? who could overcome her ? 
Not the warlike Medes, even if they were provoked at the recklessness of the king, no, 
not Darius the Mede and his brother Cyrus the Persian, with all their armies encamped 
outside the walls of the great City. “ Lock the gates ; keep the moats full, and let us 
rejoice in our security,” he said, and opened a festival and feast of gayest revelry. The 
warrior-king without reconnoitered, considered, reconnoitered again. “ Yes, it were pos¬ 
sible,” and while the drunken king, his court and his guards were in the midst of their 
carousing, the waters of the Euphrates were turned into the overflow lake and canals. 
Then the mustered hosts of the enemy marched stealthily over its bed, and finding the 
brazen river gates carelessly left open, they entered the city, even the banquet halls of 
the Palace, where they slew the last of the Babylonian kings, who had been “ weighed 
in the balance and found wanting.” 



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